August 20, 2010

Luke 2:49-52 “And He said unto them, 'How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Fathers business?' And they understood not the saying which He spake unto them. And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subjected unto them: but His mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God.”

This is the Gift of Mary- not her gift to others but God's gift to her. She was chosen among many other women to bear, birth, and raise Jesus from infancy, you know, around the clock feedings, diapers etc, through the teenage years on to adulthood.

I can't imagine Jesus being much of a problem child though, can you? Still, Mary endured the rigors of child raising that too many find to be too much to deal with. For example, when her family left Jerusalem, neither she nor Joseph were at all concerned that the Boy Jesus was not right there with them. They asked around for him after about a day of traveling, then went back to Jerusalem and found Him after 3 days, sitting in the temple, talking with well educated adults, asking questions and giving answers that amazed His learned audience. His “parents” were frantic, forgetting who He was.

When they found Him, Jesus went with them, being “subject” to them as their child. He would live the whole human experience, His “Fathers business,” as directed by God and our need for salvation. Even though I cannot even imagine it, I like to take time once in a while and contemplate how Mary and Joseph must have felt.

The Gift of Mary- the exclusive honor of watching Jesus grow into a man.

Wow …

12 year old Jesus in the temple

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