Third Sunday of Lent
Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration, and finding too much buying and selling in the temple area, he made a whip of cords, and drove out the salespeople and the moneychangers, proclaiming that the Temple, his “Father’s house,” had become a marketplace instead of a place of prayer.
Jesus had been in that same temple many years earlier to celebrate a Passover with Mary and Joseph. Thinking he was with the extended family on the journey home, Mary and Joseph searched frantically for him, but he had remained in Jerusalem, in his “Father’s house,” sitting with the elders, listening to them and asking questions.
Mary and Joseph were understandably filled with great anxiety when they could not find Jesus, but even more so when he explained his absence. Luke tells us they “did not understand what he said to them.” (Luke 2:50) Again we have no words from Joseph, Mary did the speaking, but he must have kept all these things in his heart, reflecting on them.” (Luke 2:19) What is to become of my son, Jesus?
We do not always understand God’s ways. It takes a lot of reflection, a lot of trust and prayer. Sometime you have to go to your Father’s house and sit, and listen, and let the questions emerge. It was “after three days” (Luke 2:46) that they found him. Something else important, a moment of light, happened after three days… What are the things I don’t completely understand about what God is doing in my life? What might God be trying to raise up in me during this Lenten season? Maybe St. Joseph can walk with you, be your guide, as one who silently pondered God’s work in his life.