Knowing The Word in Luke 2:41-45, Passover in Jerusalem

The gospels give us very little information about Jesus’ early life. The story of his Passover trip to Jerusalem reveals the piety of his parents, who traveled there every year, and the growing awareness of Jesus that he is the Son of God, who feels most at home in his Father’s house.

41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. 43 And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, 44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him.

Prayer: Father, thank you that Jesus taught us to speak intimately to you in prayer with a familiar and familial name. May I feel at home with you each and every day, especially as I open up to your guiding presence in my life. Amen.