Luke 2:41–52 (ESV)
The Boy Jesus in the Temple
41 Now
his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. 43 And when the feast was ended, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, 44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them
questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have
you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” 49 And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
50 And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in
her heart.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth and childhood repeatedly sets the ordinary beside the miraculous (e.g., a youth from the hinterland stuns the Jerusalem rabbis with His wisdom). Given the mysterious and often apparently ordinary ways God chooses
to reveal Himself and His salvation—in the flesh of His Son, in words, in water, in bread and wine—we easily underestimate their power. Thankfully, the very common aspects of God’s gifts mean that they are never far from us.
I pray: Lord Jesus, open my eyes to Your life-giving presence. Through Your Word, Sacraments, and
Spirit, bless my life, so that things that seem mundane become a foretaste of blessedness in Your eternal presence. Amen.[1]