The Obscure Years VIII

The most well known story of the obscure years in Nazareth actually does not take place in the hometown, but in Jerusalem.  In the second chapter of Luke there is a story of Jesus staying behind in the Temple after his parents had left for home.  The amazing thing to today's most protective parents is the way it took so long for Mary and Joseph to notice that their oldest was missing.  The Scripture says, "Assuming that He was in the group of travelers, they went a day's journey.  Then they started looking for Him among their relatives and friends.  When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for Him.  After three days they found Him in the Temple...."  (Luke 2:44-46)    

Unlike today's twelve year olds who might be a bit anxious if separated from their parents as was Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph showed no evidence of anxiety or concern.  When they found Him, He seemed surprised that they would not have known where to find Him.  "Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" He asked them.  (Luke 2:49)  As we read the story we not only see a young boy who was well beyond His peers in understanding the things of the Father, but also One who had a strong sense of the inner spirituality which was shaping His life.   

While we might attribute this spiritual smartness and wisdom to the fact that He was divine as well as human, it is also true that His spiritual journey was shaped by the teaching and example of those whom He called mother and father there in Nazareth.  Their influence on this son of theirs and the Father's cannot be overestimated.  Not only did He learn from them by their words, but He also saw through their living within the family and within the community what it meant to live in obedience to God.  Nazareth and His home in that small town was fertile ground for the spiritual life being grown in One known as Son of God, Savior of the World.