Scripture tells the story of a 12-year-old Jesus who slipped off without the courtesy of a quick word to Mother Mary or Stepfather Joseph about where he was going or how late he was staying out. His parents assumed that he was moving with the group, as planned, back home to Nazareth at the end of the Passover celebration, traveling with others, not too far away. Eventually, they realized that Jesus was not on his way home at all; he had stayed behind in the city of Jerusalem. It took three whole days before his earthly parents eventually found him in the city’s Temple.
Mary issued the age-old, long-repeated refrain of maternal worry: “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been very worried, and we have been searching for you.”
Jesus responded, “Why did you have to look for me? Didn’t you know that I would be in my Father’s house?” The tween Jesus offers a response that amounts to I had to do what I had to do and I had to go where I had to…
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