Finding Jesus in the Temple and Piety

Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house? – Lk 2:49

When we hear this reading in Mass for the first time, our first thought is to wonder how Mary and Joseph could have forgotten their Son in the Temple. Father Donald Calloway in one of his books, Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father, gives a very reasonable and compelling case that our modern, Western minds miss because we do not understand the first-century Jewish context. Jesus, being Jewish and twelve years old, would have been in a place where He could be seen as both a man, following the celebration of His bar-mitzvah, and a child, a frustration that still bothers twelve year olds’ to this day. Mary would have been walking in the caravan with the women and the children, and Joseph would have been walking with the men of the caravan. Since they had gone up to the Temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of the Passover, thousands of people would have been not only in the city but traveling home, as well. Some might point to this and say that this proves Mary is not sinless because she left Christ at the Temple, when in reality it is an error in communication and not a sin.

Luke also tells us that Mary and Joseph searched Jerusalem for three days before they found Him in the Temple. Early Church Fathers recognized this as a foreshadowing of Mary losing Jesus to the grave for three days before the Resurrection. What I find interesting, which has been coming up in prayer for the past few years while meditating upon this mystery, is how did Mary and Joseph end up at the Temple. Was the Temple just the last place they looked or did they come to the end of their human efforts and in faith decide to go to the Temple and turn to the Lord for help?

This brings us to piety, which the Catechism of the Catholic Church says in the glossary, piety is, “One of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit which leads one to devotion of God (1831). Filial piety connotes an attitude of reverence and respect by children toward their parents (2215). Piety also refers to the religious sense of a people, and its expression in popular devotions (1674),” (CCC, p. 893). Knowing the Gospel episode of the losing and finding of Jesus, we see that the Holy Family went up to Jerusalem for a high feast, an expression of the religious sense of the Jewish people, who were commanded to “observe this day, throughout your generations, as an ordinance for ever,” (Ex 12:17). We also see at the end of the passage, Luke writes, “he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them;” (Lk 2:51), showing Christ’s filial obedience to His parents. We also see here Mary’s trust and devotion to God: “and his mother kept all these things in her heart,” (Lk 2:51).

Looking at the middle of the story now, Luke tells us, “After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers,” (Lk 2:46-47). Jesus, being only twelve, would have been an anomaly to the scribes and the doctors of the Law. The typical path of Jewish scriptural education was through bet sefer, bet talmud, and bet midrash. In bet sefer, everyone is learning the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch. Every Jewish boy would have known these stories because there is so much of the Jewish faith that is rooted in the five books of Moses. If you were a good student there, you would continue on to bet talmud, where you would learn the prophets and some of the writings of David and Solomon, such as the Psalms, though most Jewish people prayed with the Psalms daily. If you were exceedingly exceptional, you would continue onto bet midrash, where you would become a disciple of a rabbi and take on his way of life and understanding of the sacred texts. Bet talmud would typically occur between the ages of ten and fourteen, so the fact that Jesus is twelve and is amazing the doctors of the Law and possible members of the Sanhedrin with His questions and answers is something that should not be overlooked.

It is also interesting that some of these doctors, scribes, and Sanhedrin members might have argued with Him in the streets and ultimately put Him to death.

Luke even notes, “when they saw him they were astonished;” (Lk 2:48), showing that Joseph and Mary might have been listening and observing Jesus interact with these learned men. The moment Mary and Joseph would have laid eyes on Jesus after three days is also something interesting to meditate upon. When they were looking through the Temple, did they stay together or try to cover more ground? Who saw Jesus first? I would think that Joseph would have remained close to Mary because with the city so crowded, he would have wanted to make sure Mary was safe and protected. I have this idea that down a long hallway, with columns on the right side, Mary would have seen Joseph standing and looking into a room. She would see that he was not frantic or agitated, but that there was a certain peace about him. After walking over to him and following his eyes, she would see Jesus teaching from a seated position with the doctors and scribes standing around Him. When she would go to take a step and take her child in her arms again, Joseph would take her arm and give her a look that said ‘this lesson is for us too.’ They would stand in the doorway, listening to their Son and observe the continued amazement of the doctors. I see Jesus teaching them, and His parents catching His eye. He smiled at them and concluded His point. Standing up, some doctors were upset that their lesson was over. Walking over to Mary and Joseph, Mary would kneel down and ask Him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety,” (Lk 2:48), and He would gently respond to her, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Lk 2:49). And closing the episode, Luke makes a connection to David, saying, “Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man,” (Lk 2:52).