Reading 1
1 Kgs 19:19-21
Elijah set out, and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat,
as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen;
he was following the twelfth.
Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him.
Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said,
“Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,
and I will follow you.”
Elijah answered, “Go back!
Have I done anything to you?”
Elisha left him and, taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them;
he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh,
and gave it to his people to eat.
Then he left and followed Elijah as his attendant.
Gospel
Lk 2:41-51
Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
“Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
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.
Meditation: Luke 2:41-51
The Immaculate Heart of Mary
Why have you done this to us? (Luke 2:48)
In the Temple, the young Jesus engaged in the kind of dialogue Jewish scholars have enjoyed from ancient times right up to the present: asking and answering questions. A promising young scholar didn’t simply repeat what his rabbi said. He used questions to probe deeper. Sometimes the questions were rhetorical, sometimes they were hypothetical. They were, however, always aimed at coming to a fuller understanding of the truths of God and his commandments.
Mary, too, used questions to deepen her understanding. At the annunciation, she asked the angel Gabriel: “How can this be?” Throughout her life, she asked: “How can I best carry out God’s intention?” And in today’s Gospel passage, she asked Jesus: “Son, why have you done this to us?”
Not surprisingly, Jesus responded with questions of his own: “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Jesus knew that if Mary and Joseph had fully understood his relationship with God and the mission for which God was preparing him, they wouldn’t have spent three days searching the inns and marketplace. They would have gone straight to the Temple and found him there.
Scripture doesn’t tell us how Mary responded to Jesus’ questions. We only know that she “kept all these things in her heart,” turning them over prayerfully. Her son’s words must have begun to prepare her for the day Jesus would leave home and embark on his public ministry—the day when Mary would have to surrender her son to God’s will.
Today, we reflect on the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Mary’s heart has always been at rest in God, yet she understands what it is to be full of questions. When we have questions, she listens patiently. Perhaps if you are quiet, you will hear her ask a question in return. What are you seeking? How will this choice affect the people around you? How can you make more room for God’s love in your life?
“Mary, fold me in your loving embrace. Help me to be honest with my questions, to be open to a fuller understanding of God’s truth and a fuller experience of his love.”
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