June 12, 2010
Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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. Luke 2:49-51
Piety
My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm:
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He has sent empty away.
He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever. (Luke 1:46-55)
Study
Why were you looking for me?
Jesus is always trying to pry open the hearts and minds of those around him. His human parents were no exception.
We learn in the notes to this passage in the New American Bible that this story’s concern with an incident from Jesus’ youth is unique in the canonical gospel tradition. It presents Jesus in the role of the faithful Jewish boy, raised in the traditions of Israel, and fulfilling all that the law requires. With this episode, the infancy narrative ends just as it began, in the setting of the Jerusalem temple.
Mary and Joseph are just beginning to learn about the primacy of the mission set forth from God. However, they were the first responders. Had they not already accepted their missions according to the Father’s wishes, then Jesus might not even be here to preach in the temple.
This questioning, peripatetic, Socratic method is a common means Jesus employed when he was making a point. Just consider some of the key questions Jesus poses in Luke’s Gospel.
• Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?
• What are you thinking in your hearts?
• Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?
• Have you not read what David did when he and those (who were) with him were hungry?
• For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?
• And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?
• If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit (is) that to you?
• Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?
• Where is your faith?
• Who touched me?
• Who do the crowds say that I am?
• But who do you say that I am?
• What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?
• What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
• If God so clothes the grass in the field that grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
• Salt is good, but if salt itself loses its taste, with what can its flavor be restored?
• What woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it?
• When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?
• Why do you call me good?
• Who can be saved?
• Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts?
Action
How can Jesus use these questions to make a point in your life?
From the very first question posed to Jesus and Mary right on through the last one posed after the Resurrection to us, Jesus often sets up his major points by asking an opening rhetorical question. He uses these inquiries as a way to break open our hearts so He has a way inside.
Meditate on one or more of the Jesus Questions posed in the Gospel of St. Luke. What is your answer? Are you willing to share that answer with others?
