This passage from Luke’s Gospel tells us certain aspects of his character. He was a law-abiding believer who wanted to bring up his family in the faith. In his fatherhood, he shows that parenting is not about control but being faithfully present. Like any parent, Joseph does not understand his son, and yet, he remains committed to his wellbeing. He does not scold or yell at Jesus for taking off and visiting the Temple; he does not demand an explanation but seeks to understand. Through trying to understand, he is trying to love Jesus more like the way God treats us – slow to anger, abounding in kindness, and rich in mercy.
Did Joseph feel anxious about losing Jesus. You bet. He felt the heartache of his child not being safe by his side. He models what love does: He goes back to Jerusalem, searches for his son, and does not rest until he finds him. It teaches us that when we seem to lose touch with Jesus through doubt, distraction, or suffering, we have to keep searching.
Joseph, like any concerned parent, realizes that Jesus is his son, but not his possession. Jesus, like you, are independent of your parents. In this case, Joseph had to let Jesus belong first to his Abba Father, before belonging to Joseph. It must have hurt Joseph to hear that he is no longer the primary figure in the consciousness of Jesus, yet it is not a rejection of Joseph, but a reordering of who he is to Jesus. Joseph knows something fundamental: control is an illusion. Many of us fight for control. We never quite get it because it doesn’t exist. Joseph has to hold onto Jesus in reverence.
The closing words of this passage is quite important. Jesus had to return to Nazareth with Joseph and Mary to learn obedience. His parents were his first and primary teachers and what happened in the home in daily, ordinary life was crucial for the education of Jesus. Sometimes, daily life can be monotonous and boring, but this is the stuff that matters. Holiness is done daily within the home and at school, and his quiet unremarkable part of the day is essential. The guidance of Joseph and Mary was needed in order to Jesus to learn what it meant to be faithful to his Abba, Father. It is the ordinariness of life that is quite extraordinary. Jesus was formed by the example of Joseph, the one who was patient, consistent, and faithful. The reason we are saved by Jesus is because he was obedient to God, even to the point of death. He learned that obedience at home in unremarkable ways. We have to understand that our daily showing up and doing our best is seldom flashy, bold, or exciting, but it is the time that Christ is being formed in us. Joseph never speaks in the Gospel, but his life is essential to God’s plan. So is yours.
What does this all mean for us? It means that we have to know that Jesus loves us in the ordinariness of daily life. It means that your teachers, guidance counselors, administrators, and the sisters are doing all they can to show you the faithful, silent witness of Joseph so that you can know Jesus in your life. It means that holiness is ordinary and seemingly unremarkable because we cannot see it in order to name it. It means that God is never going to stop trying to find you. God will not stop looking. Sometimes we might feel like a part of us is unlovable. God is going to keep looking for you to tell you that you are lovable, that God wants to bring you into friendship, that God wants you to see yourself the way God sees you. Think of this school as the Temple to where Jesus was drawn. He learned about God from the elders, but mostly from his classmates and family. This is an exciting journey, one in which this whole school and the sisters stand before you like Joseph urging the very best for you and calling you forth as the saints that you are.
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