How is it that you sought me? Did you not know I must be in my Father’s house?
Recently, I’ve been getting a lot of comfort from the fifth joyful mystery of the rosary: the finding of the child Jesus in the temple. Mary and Joseph anxiously search for Jesus after He stays behind in Jerusalem following the Passover feast. When He is finally found, listening and talking with the teachers in the temple, He seems to have expected them to know where He would be, instead of traipsing across Jerusalem looking everywhere. But they didn’t just know He would be in the temple and they seem even to struggle with His response.
Why is this comforting to me?
Mary was conceived without Original Sin, she bore the God-man in her womb following a conversation with an angel, and she humbly bears the honor being Queen of Heaven and earth. Yet she did not know that Jesus would be in the temple.
Joseph was a man who was clearly directed in his dreams, nobly labored to provide a life for Mary and Jesus, and lived a life governed by faith, justice, and wisdom. Yet he did not know that Jesus would be in the temple.
Those closest to Christ during His earthly life, those who raised Him from a small baby, those who were perfect or nearly so did not understand what Jesus was doing in this moment. The same would be true for many other moments in their lives, too.
And I find this to be extremely comforting.
When I cannot see what God is planning for my future…
When I do not understand how any greater good could be brought from this present pain…
When I do not find much reason to hope…
When the sadness of the present blinds me from seeing the joy that is certainly to come…
When I seek but do not find, ask but don’t receive an answer, knock but do not find an open door…
When I wonder but seem to get no closer to understanding…
When I cannot find Jesus in the present moment although I know He must be close…
In all of this and so much more, I find it comforting to know that I am in such good company. The disciples continually express confusion over what Jesus says or are baffled at something Jesus does. Mary ponders many things in her heart as she seeks to understand what is being asked of her. Down through the ages, Jesus has been confounding people and He seems intent upon continuing that tradition into the future.
Perhaps, however, one of the important things to remember is that they sought Him. Mary and Joseph don’t continue the rest of the way home without Jesus. Instead, they recognize Him absence, look for Him in the places they expect to find Him, and continue seeking until He is found.
Maybe this is the call for all of us.
When we realize our lack, we should immediately seek, urgently, incessantly, without rest, until we find the One who orders all things well, the One who provides the answer even if we don’t quite know the question, and the One who knows the whole story of which we are only a few sentences.
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