Scripture Scribbles: December 29, 2024
the Gospel
Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast
of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
“Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
And he said to them,
“Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them;
and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor
before God and man.
the scribble
Why were you looking for me? (Luke 2:49)
It is Jesus’s response to Mary that jumps out to me today as I pray with this Gospel. Why were you looking for me? What an odd and unexpected response from Jesus when he is finally found. What could it mean?
As I bring it to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to reveal deeper meaning, a realization slowly rolls over me. I see that in this question lies the answer to many of our most poignant problems.
Mary asks Jesus why He would do this to them, as they have been searching for him with “great anxiety”. The premise of this question is incorrect. The truth is that Mary and Joseph and the caravan left without Him. He stayed, while all those who traveled there with Him strayed. They left Him behind. They even think that He is still with them (Luke 2:44) and journey for a day, looking for him among their friends and family. When they realize they lost him, they begin to search and eventually retrace their steps back to Jerusalem.
Have you ever felt like you’ve lost Jesus in life?
Perhaps you even thought He was still with you, as you soldiered on ahead forging your own way. Making your own decisions about a particular situation or life goal. Maybe, once you felt a hint of concern that you may have lost Him you started looking for traces of Him in your friends or family, to try to confirm your decisions or the path you started down. Or maybe it isn’t until reading this right now that you’ve realized you’ve lost Jesus in your life, or in a certain part of your heart.
If this describes you or your situation in any way, let’s consider what happens next in the story:
Mary and Joseph begin to retrace their steps in order to find Jesus. This is something that you and I can learn from. I recently heard this described by Lisa Brenninkmeyer on the Walking With Purpose podcast and I loved the concept: If you ever feel as though you’ve lost Jesus, try retracing your steps to the last place you remember seeing Him. Where is it you feel closest to God? Morning prayer time, daily Mass, Adoration, the Eucharist, long walks out in nature, before bed with the Rosary? Do you feel the most peace when you take some quiet time for yourself or tell God the details of your day?
Start those habits up again, and you will find Him there waiting for you.
Because it wasn’t actually Christ who left you, but you who left Christ behind. Our Lord is the same today as he was yesterday and as He will be tomorrow. It is us who stray, who leave Him behind. And when you find Him, don’t ask Him why He left you. Because He didn’t. He waits for us, loving us even when we unknowingly leave Him. Though we may stray, He never will.
I invite you in a special way this week to seek Christ out in the Eucharist. Spend time with Him in Adoration. Receive Him at daily Mass. Visit with His Real Presence. He waits for you each day in a special way, in every Catholic Church in the world. We can never lose Him, if we only know where to look.
“Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49).
Today’s devotion was written by Rachel Smith
