The Collect
O LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to receive the prayers of thy people who call upon thee; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle (Romans xii. 1)
I BESEECH you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
The Gospel (St. Luke ii. 41)
NOW his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
Epiphany I - Message in a Minute
What must it have been like to be the earthly parents of God's son? What must it have been like to have a son who never committed a sin? We have only the sketchiest answers to these tantalizing questions.
Today's gospel provides some insight. It tells us of a trip that Jesus, Mary and Joseph took to Jerusalem at Passover. This annual event was an obligation on Jews who could make the trip. They traveled from Nazareth in a caravan, and as Joseph and Mary traveled home, they were sure Jesus was somewhere in the group. After a day, they realized he was not, and they went back to Jerusalem in a panic to look for him.
They found Jesus in the temple, where he was astonishing the rabbis with his ability to debate the Hebrew Bible. When Mary asked him why he had treated them so badly and forced her and Joseph to search for him in desperation, he replied, "What's the big deal? Didn't you realize that I had to be doing my father's business in my father's house?'
This story marks the turning point in Jesus' understanding of himself and his mission. There is no doubt now that he knows that he is the Son of God, and that he has come to earth to do what his Father wants him to do. But instead of going away to study, he prepares himself for his ministry by staying in Joseph's house, learning his foster father's trade and studying the Hebrew Bible.
Jesus comes to the temple not only to debate his elders. He comes to remind himself and us that his mission on earth is to sacrifice himself to forgive our sins, just as Hebrew priests sacrificed animals as sin-offerings in the temple under the old covenant.
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