2nd Epiphany
Luke 2, 41-52
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| Borgnone |
Every year his [Jesus’] parents went to Jerusalem
for the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they took him
with them. Now after they had gone there and fulfilled the custom during the
days of the feast, they set off on their way home. But the boy Jesus remained
behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know this; they thought he was among
the company of the travelers. After a day’s journey they missed him among their
friends and relations. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem
to look for him.
After three days they found him in the Temple, sitting in
the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And
those who heard him were amazed at his mature understanding and his answers.
And when they saw him, they were taken aback, and
his mother said to him, “My child, why have you done this to us? Behold, your
father and I have been searching for you in great distress.”
And he said to them, “Why did you look for me? Did
you not know that I must be and live in that which is my Father’s?”
But they did not understand the meaning of the
words he spoke to them. And he went down with them again to Nazareth and
followed them willingly in all things.
And his mother carefully kept all these things living in
her heart. And Jesus progressed in wisdom, in maturity and grace [favor] in the
sight of God and man.
2nd Epiphany
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| Pinturicchio |
January 13, 2013
Luke 2: 41-52
At twelve, Jesus
undergoes a great change. Overnight he is transformed from a sweet and simple
child into a wise and mature young man. His parents don’t know what to make of
him. They chide him; he answers innocently, yet with some surprise, that he
thought it obvious where he belonged. At the same time he returns with them
cheerfully and willingly.
There are nodal points in all our lives, points where
something emerges, something shifts; where the old dissolves and the new
consolidates. It happens to us; it happens to those we love and think we know,
even to adults.
This reading gives us two lessons: the first is that no one
stays the same. We all develop (or else we devolve). Therefore the second
lesson is that it is helpful to approach each person we encounter with a kind
of open and neutral curiosity—as if we had never met them before, even if we
think we know them well. Otherwise they are trapped in a cage we have made for
them, a cage of expectations, of disappointments, even of disapproval. Such an
open and unprejudiced practice of heart allows the other to become what they
truly are.
With open hearted curiosity, we offer them a broad but
impartial mirror in which they can see the truth of themselves reflected
clearly. We are offering them a form of Christ-love; for He said, ‘You shall
know the truth, and the truth shall set you free’.[1]
[1]
John 8:32
Note in the Pinturicchio the three children: Jesus on the upper right, and two children on the left foreground, an older one and a younger-looking one, touching each other. The older looking child holds a book, the younger a white bag in his left hand (a book?). The Jesus on the upper right seems separated from the rest of the figures by a kind of white tile 'boundary' in the floor, which is strewn with books (the Word). Only the Mother figure next to him in the background (in red, blue and purple) extends across the boundary toward Jesus. The Borgnone above also has two children, one being led away by the Mother, the other remaining.
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