sto nino - 3rd sunday of january

For three days they could not find Jesus.  For three days they searched for Jesus.  They searched for him among his relatives and among his peers where normally boys at that age would gravitate.  But they could not find him there.  They searched for him among their neighbors who were with them on this pilgrimage.  They could not find him there either.  And so they decided to go back to Jerusalem and searched for him in the possible places they thought they would find him.  But he was not there. 

Then on the third day, they finally found him in the temple among the elders and the learned.  Terribly exhausted, upset and probably even furious, Mary confronted the child and said, Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.”

Then Jesus tried to explain his side though some scholars say it sounded more like a retort.  He was answering as it were an accusation from his mother: “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 

Now the table is turned.  What was unusual is no longer the question why he remained behind, why he did not inform them beforehand.  When the tables are turned the focus was no longer on why he got lost.  What is unusual now is why they could not find him, why did it take them three days, that long, to find him?  According to the retort of Jesus it is odd indeed that his parents do not know where he is, they do not know where to look for him.  The retort is such that Jesus seems to say, “Mother, of all people, you are in a better position to know where to find me.”  They should have known that he was in the Father’s house, they should have known that he was about his Father’s work, they should have known that he was doing his Father’s will. 

She should have known.   They should have known where to find him.

So next time if you think you lost Jesus, where will you find him?  Where will you search for Jesus?  You will find Jesus wherever the Father’s will is being done.  You must search for Jesus in those moments, in those occasions and opportunities where the Father’s will is being done.  Wherever the Father’s will is done Jesus is there, you will also find him there.  Search for Jesus then where he will be found – in kindness, in compassion, in humble service, in sacrificial love, reaching out to the lost, in forgiveness, in detachment, in letting go.  Whatever God’s will

Some of us are going through discernment, searching, listening, weighing, judging, considering, testing – where is God calling me, what is his purpose for me, where is he leading me.  Whatever that is, wherever this discernment may lead you, whatever it may require from you, when you do God’s will, you will find Jesus there.  And you will know that you are doing God’s will when Jesus is also there.