Thursday, March 19, 2026

 2 Sam 7:4, 8-16 or Rom 4:13-18; Ps 89:1-4, 26-29; Lk 2:41-52

Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever. 2 Samuel 7:16

For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. Romans 4:13

I have sworn to my servant David:

“I will establish your descendants for ever,

    and build your throne for all generations.”’ Psalm 89:3-4

When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, ‘Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.’ He said to them, ‘Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ Luke 2: 48-49

Today’s Gospel takes place when Mary & Joseph and Jesus went to Jerusalem to observe Passover. On their way home they discover Jesus is not with them. Mary and Joseph return to Jerusalem, though it takes three days for them to find Jesus. He had been spent those days at the temple discussing in discussions with religious leaders. 

Who can help but imagine the distress Mary and Joseph experienced when they realized Jesus was missing (the movie Home Alone suggests itself). Never mind parental concern, anyone on a journey (to the grocery store, to grandma’s) would be distressed that a member of their group has gone missing, let alone a 12-year old.

When they do find Jesus, Mary is understandably upset, expressed in the age-old question, “how could you put your father and I through this?!”

In the NRSV translation, Jesus answers his mother’s question with a question: How could you not know I would be in my Father’s house? 

When reflecting on this passage locate kept popping into my mind. The OED gives four uses for the word, including: discover the exact place or position of; situate in a particular place; and place within a particular context.

Mary and Joseph spend days trying to locate Jesus. When they do find him, Jesus then calls them out for not having properly located him. Kind of abstract — no wonder they left scratching their heads.

Jesus’ question asks his parents to shift their perspective. He is their son and the passage goes on to show he acknowledges this by being obedient to them. But through this episode Jesus is showing them he is God’s son, first. Painful. But we know this is only the beginning.

At twelve years Jesus is still a boy, but it is an age the marks transition. In current Jewish practice it would be about when a boy would bar mitzvah, that is, become responsible for his own actions and be considered an adult in the eyes of the Jewish faith. 

Today’s reading is important not just because it highlights Jesus’ gifts among the temple leadership. It marks a transition, a moment of preparation for Mary and Joseph, who are, in a way, advocates for us readers — where in the heck did you go & you scared the life out of us! Along with Mary and Joseph we need to orient ourselves to who Jesus truly is and what he represents. We need to prepare ourselves, just as Mary and Joseph needed to steel themselves for the days ahead. That they were looking for him for three days presages what is to come.

The journey through Lent offers a chance to contemplate deeply Jesus as a human being, with a mum and dad, and friends. Consider all that was sacrificed. Lent asks us to stare this down, to sit with this loss for a bit, ponder its value, and ask: where do we locate Jesus? How do we seek renewal?

Alison Goodwin

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