“Shame on you, Jesus! Your behaviour has been irresponsible and disrespectful! You have brought shame on your family!” Such may have been the reproaches of Mary as she and Joseph led the boy Jesus back to the caravan.

And Joseph might have added: “And, to add insult to injury, you tell us that you must be about your father’s business! I am your father! Right! Let’s get down to business!”

And these remarks were most likely followed by the finest beating of his life, for the Book of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) tells us in chapter 30, verses 1-13: “A man who loves his son will beat him frequently”

And again:
“Allow him no independence in childhood, and do not wink at his mistakes.”
And yet again:
“Bend his neck in youth; bruise his ribs while he is a child, or else he will grow stubborn and disobedient and hurt you deeply.”

These harsh realities of Middle-Eastern family life, in a group-oriented culture, certainly blow away our fond and foolish fantasies of a golden-haired boy-Jesus, in radiant and perfect harmony with his doting parents! What? Children nowadays might well have called the police and accused Mary and Joseph of child abuse!

And yet, he was accepted by the doctors/teachers in the Temple! Good for him! Our boy had made a successful transition from being the darling of Mummy, Granny, Aunties and cousins in that close, “over-womaned” atmosphere of childhood, with all its sexual ambivalences, to the male adult world… but not without struggle! St Luke’s laconic remark “he lived under their authority” (Luke 2:51) speaks volumes!

Growing up can be so difficult at times I remember when, as an adolescent, having done something particularly stupid, my father called me a “Jackass!” Stung by the insult, I returned the volley with: “Yes, DADDY!” Retribution was swift and painful! Yes, rearing children has never been easy, in any culture.

We, through the grace of the hindsight of the Gospels, are given an insight into Jesus the human being – that is to day the Word-made-Flesh.

The Mighty God has had to experience diapers, breast-feeding, schooling and now, the struggle to mature into manhood with a vision of his own – a vision of life different to anything his parents or peers can understand. When our children or others exhibit such visions, we might do well to “store up all these things in (our) heart.” (Luke 2:52).

Let us pray:
Lord, we thank you for the spunk of Jesus, daring, at his age, to grow up and to follow his own insights. We thank you for the Hmmmms of Joseph and Mary as they strive to understand and support him.
Lord, we ask pardon for crushing, by our harsh criticism or silence or studied indifference, the hopes, dreams and visions of those in our society who want a better life. Help us to be able to see your Spirit at work in them, and, at least, to ponder these things in our hearts.
Lord, we ask you to raise up in our Church and in our society men and women unafraid to “be about their Father’s business”, so that your Church and all peoples may increase in wisdom, stature and favour with you and each other.

Gospel Meditations for December are by Bro Paschal Jordan of the Benedictine Monastery, Mora Camp, Lower Mazaruni, Guyana