'Lost and Found' - weekly reflection 5th January 2025

Currently Emmerdale has a story line of a troubled teenage girl who has left home. Her disappearance went undetected for several hours because her dad thought she was asleep. She had arrived home in a drunken state and her dad assumed the reason she hadn’t got up was that she was sleeping off the effects.

It is only in Luke’s account that we get the story of Jesus in the Temple as a twelve-year-old boy. Well, actually that should be ‘young man’ because although the idea of a ‘bar mitsvah’ is modern and happens when a boy is thirteen, some scholars argue that something similar did happen, albeit without a special ceremony, at the time of Jesus.

This is an extract from one article.

Yeshua grows up and the next we hear of Him is at age twelve. In modern times a “Bar Mitzvah” is celebrated when a young Jewish man becomes age thirteen. Bar Mitzvah means “son of the Commandment”. It is a time where a young child becomes a man. And as a man he is expected to now follow the Torah to its fullest. By time many Jewish boys have memorized the Torah – the first five books of the Bible. Really! Maybe in the time of Yeshua, this age was twelve, no one knows for sure. What we do know is His family takes Him to Jerusalem for the Feast of Pesach (Passover).

The story goes like this, “And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. When they had finished the days, as they returned the Boy Yeshua lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it.” Luke 2:43. Yes, it was required to go to the Temple for the Feast of Pesach, again His parents are following Torah. But, what is so interesting about this account is that Yeshua is twelve years old. The time when He would be formally recognized as a “man”.

(c) Nancy Kujawa All Rights Reserved.

https://www.jesus-was-a-rabbi.com/p/jesus-had-bar-mitzvah.html

There is a lot more fascinating detail in this story, and if you are familiar with Scripture you will recall the importance of ‘twelve’ and you will remember the story of the young girl of twelve and the woman with the issues of blood who had suffered for twelve years. (Luke chapter 8)

Tom Wright in his ‘Everyone’ commentary points out the parallel with the story of the couple of the road to Emmaus. (Luke tells his Gospel often with a focus on travelling, on a journey) The story of Jesus being ‘lost’ by Mary and Joseph begins a story that concludes with the story of the couple on the road to Emmaus when a stranger comes alongside them and joins in with the conversation. This couple believe they have ‘lost’ Jesus. (A technical detail makes the link clearer. In the Temple when approached by Mary and Jospeh, Jesus receives a slight rebuke from Mary. Jesus’ responds, ‘it was necessary that that I should be about my father’s work.’ In response to the Emmaus couple Jesus responds, ‘it was necessary that all these things should take place.’ 'It was necessary' is the same word in Greek used in both cases.)   

On reading the story of Jesus in the Temple you may have pondered how this could happen. Jesus was ‘lost’ to his parents for three days.  (Note that, three days!)

The reason is given in the story. Mary, Joseph and Jesus would have journeyed to Jerusalem with a large company of family and friends. It would be very natural to assume that Jesus was somewhere in that company. But then, they begin to get concerned and make the return trip. Going back to the Temple they find Jesus.

As we journey in the company of others throughout 2025 we might become ‘casual’ about Jesus’ presence. Like the parents of the teenager in Emmerdale, and like Mary and Joseph, we assume that Jesus is with us. And in one sense we know that he is always with us. (With over 100 verses in the Scripture making this declaration)   

However, in the busyness of life we can easily ‘loose sight of Jesus.’ Mary and Joseph had to begin to see their son in a new light, strange and puzzling as it may have been, there are always new things to learn.  The couple on the road to Emmaus had to turn and give Jesus their full attention and for them it was in the blessing and the breaking of the bread that they recognized Jesus.

Consider what steps you might put in place so that you do not lose sight of Jesus. That you simply assume he is with you. Or, perhaps that you think, well it’s okay because he is somewhere in the company of faithful.

Be honest, you may be hiding from Jesus behind a shield of others and their faith and knowledge of Jesus, living off a vicarious faith. Yes, we are called into community, but we are also called to have a personal relationship with Jesus. To know and acknowledge his presence with us 24/7, even when we might prefer not to have him around!

 (With thanks to Rev Margaret Simmons and her sermon on the 31st December 2024  at St Oswald's, Rugby that gave the inspiration for this reflection)