Additional Resource Material for this Sunday
Ideal for catechetical and liturgical dramatization of today's gospel.
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Feast of the Holy Family (Cycle C)
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Lost in the Temple
The Law of Israel required that everyone should “appear before God” in the Temple of Jerusalem, during the three principal feasts of the year. Those who did not have this obligation were the deaf, the idiots, the children, the homosexuals, the women, and the unfreed slaves, the crippled, the blind, the sick and the aged. This norm simply highlights who were considered the “outcasts” in that society, who were unworthy even to appear before the Lord. The three feasts were the Passover, the first fruits (Pentecost) and the harvest (The Tents). The Passover was the most popular of the three. The poor – who could not spend for the yearly pilgrimages – fulfilled their obligation especially during this feast. Although the women were not obliged, they usually joined their husbands and children in the trip to celebrate the Passover. The texts of this period show that boys who were thirteen years of age should begin to comply with the obligation to join the pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Passover. It was the custom of the people living in the interior part of Israel to bring them along at an earlier age of twelve, to familiarize them with the manner of complying with the precepts that would be required of them the following year. Participation in the feast of the Passover together with the people was a way of consecrating the “majority age” of the boy, after which he began to act like a real “Israelite,” since it was understood that “Israelite” was synonymous to “he who goes to Jerusalem.” For the pilgrimages big caravans were formed, composed of neighbors from the same town, friends and relatives. This way, they could protect each other from the main enemy of the road: the bandits. They traveled by foot and when they could get a glimpse of Jerusalem, the pilgrims began to sing “Psalms of Ascent” (Ps 120-134). Jesus, who had never seen the capital, nor the Temple, remained dazzled by its size and splendor. Certainly, it was for him an unforgettable impression. When Jesus went to Jerusalem, the Temple was still under reconstruction, a work started by King Herod the Great, about thirty years before. The materials used were of good quality: yellow, black and white marbles, stones engraved artistically by brilliant sculptors, cedar from Lebanon for the wonderful craftswork. Precious metals: gold, silver and bronze. The Temple was a dazzling edifice, especially for a young boy coming from a small farm village. It is not strange therefore, that Jesus, fascinated by that marvel, should have the curiosity to take a closer look at everything. All entrances to the Temple led to gold and silver-plated doorways. In the atria or patios surrounding the building were huge candelabras of gold or silver. The height of magnificence was, above all, in the edifice of the Temple. The facade was covered with plates of gold with the thickness of a denarius coin. From the beams of the hall hung thick chains of gold. There were two tables: one of fine marble and another of solid gold. From the hall of the building to the “Holy,” there was a grapevine made of golden shoots, to which were attached bunches of pure gold. In this episode, the boys were found in the vestibule (hall), when they were about to enter the place of the “Holy.” This was reserved only for priests who were assigned to offer sacrifices each day. Their entry constituted a grave mistake. In the “Holy One” were found a candelabra of pure gold with seven arms and a table where the holy bread was consecrated. Separated from this by a double veil was the so-called “Holy of Holies,” an entirely empty space with a cubic shape, and gold plated walls where the presence of God “was.” It was a dark and quiet place. Only the high priest could go inside, once a year, on the Day of Atonement, when he prayed to God for the forgiveness of sins of all the people. For the Israelites, that was the most sacred place on earth. Luke is the only one who has written an account of Jesus in the Temple, when he was twelve years old. He wrote his gospel for the foreigners, for the non-Jews, the men and women whose mentality was strongly influenced by the Greek culture. For these readers, the “wisdom” understood in the master-disciple relationship fostered inspiration and respect in them. Luke wrote this narration to concretely show these readers that Jesus is the Wisdom of God, that his mission was to teach us the way of justice, that he was the Master par excellence. In this evangelical text of his, aside from giving us historical information of Jesus’ first trip to Jerusalem at age twelve, he is also transmitting a theological message and is doing catechesis for the Greek lectors. This explains the “extraordinary” effect that a boy’s story can have, which can stun old teachers. Later on, in the remaining pages of his gospel, Luke himself will show how this “wisdom” should not be interpreted exactly the way the Greeks did, and that Jesus is not a “wise man” according to their criteria (accumulation of culture, alienation from the world, etc.), but that his is of “another” type of wisdom. In his letters, Paul will likewise refer to this topic (1 Cor 1:18-25). In this episode, the questions asked by Jesus and his replies to the priests are not those of a “child prodigy,” neither are they of a God disguised as a boy who knows everything and who pretends to be a fool in order to catch the elders in their own mistakes. No, Jesus asks questions the way any boy in any part of the world does: with simplicity, with a little mischief, with naivete. In doing so, children always charm the elders, muddle up their arguments, proving then that replying to questions is not as easy as they believe it is. The priests appear to be dominated by law, rituals and theory. Their words were empty, and not related to life. Before the innocent arguments presented by the boys, the priests find themselves in a labyrinth from which they cannot escape. When faith is expressed solely in twisted and difficult words or in ready-made prescriptions, and cannot face up to the questions of a boy, an illiterate, of someone with another culture, it only shows that this faith is just an empty shell, with nothing inside whatsover. Sometimes “what is most profound” is identified with “what is difficult to understand.” What is truly most profound shall always be accessible to all, and can be expressed in simpler words which are closer to life. (Lk 2:41-50) Taken
from the book: A Certain Jesus, Vol. 3(Chapter
140) This book offers a new approach to appreciating the life of Jesus. The first part of the Chapter is in dialogue form in an up-to-date conversational language. This makes the reader realize that Jesus was once a very ordinary guy, a typical man in his time. The last part of each chapter contains an explanation of the biblical references, thus giving one the perspective for reflection. |
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