#LosingJesus | June 4, 2016

June 4, 2016

Today is the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, immaculate meaning, “free from spot or stain, spotlessly clean; free from moral blemish or impurity; pure; undefiled.” Raise your hand if you have ever spilled coffee on your pristine white shirt on your way to work or school. No matter how hard you try to wash it out, the remnants of the stain stay with you all day, making you feel slightly off kilter, and even just plain dirty. I personally hate stains on my shirt and most especially on my white pants because it just screams to me and everyone else that I do not have it together!

In today’s gospel we see how someone with an immaculate heart responds to crisis, and responds to the many curve balls that can come our way in life. Twelve-year-old Jesus (picture a middle school boy all gangly, pimply, voice changing, obsessed with fart sounds, hyper focused on being silly or peacocky, and just plain weird) gets separated from his parents en route from Jerusalem, where they just celebrated a Holy Day, back to Nazareth. Mary and Joseph had no reason to really be concerned while en route because their faith community, family, and trusted friends were all there and everyone’s children were scattered throughout, but all were being cared for. Picture letting your child run free at Disneyland, but everyone at Disneyland is one of your best friends or a relative. It wasn’t until they were almost home that they realized, “uh oh, the Son of God has been lost!” And then the panic set in. Raise your hand if you have ever lost Jesus in your life and if your reaction was one of anxiety, worry, panic, and grief.

The first thing we learn is that even Mary’s immaculate heart did not realize she had lost her son. This gives me consolation for when I lose Jesus without even realizing it. Once they know he’s missing, they immediately begin looking for him among their family and friends, and it is good for us to do the same. Recognizing Christ in those closest to us can be one of the hardest things, but that’s exactly where the Holy Family began their search, and it seems very practical for us to do the same. Finding Jesus in our family is an excellent starting point in our faith journey. When they couldn’t find him among their community, they journeyed back from where they came, retreating, and retracing their steps. This also seems like a valuable thing to do when we have lost something. When I lose Jesus I often reflect on those times in my life when I had him the most, or I go on retreat, and it definitely gives me clues as to how to find him again. When they finally made it back to Jerusalem, it took them three more days before they found him in the temple. Raise your hand if you have ever tried to fix a problem on your own before taking it to God in prayer.

After Mary and Joseph had been unable to find him in the streets of Jerusalem, or in people’s homes, or in the market, or anywhere, they most likely went to the temple to pray or to mourn the loss of their son. Had they began in the temple, they would have found him much sooner and the anxiety with which they searched for him could have been avoided all together. When Mary asked, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” Jesus’ response was, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” I think he really meant, “No need to worry, I am easy to find, right here in my Father’s house.” Jesus responds to us in the same way…I am easy to find, come to me in prayer first and you will find me. His Father’s house is not just a building, but all of creation and you will find him: “Didn’t you know I that I MUST be in my Father’s house?”

There is one last thing that Mary’s immaculate heart did in this rich and powerful story, “and his mother kept all these things in her heart.” An immaculate heart takes what is already immaculate, The Word, and stores it in her heart so that it’s immaculateness becomes even more so. We can do the same even with our un-immaculate hearts. When we take the immaculate Words of Jesus, and move them in, letting them resonate, letting them wash away the stains of our failings, and the blemishes of our pain, we will seek him first in prayer and we will always find him exactly where he should be…in His Father’s house. Guess what? Your heart is His Father’s house, so start there. This story gives us a glimpse into Mary’s journey toward her Son and it gives us food to store in our own hearts. Have a blessed day.

Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lectionary: 358/573

Reading 1 2 TM 4:1-8

Beloved:
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,
who will judge the living and the dead,
and by his appearing and his kingly power:
proclaim the word;
be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient;
convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.
For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine
but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity,
will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth
and will be diverted to myths.
But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances;
put up with hardship;
perform the work of an evangelist;
fulfill your ministry.

For I am already being poured out like a libation,
and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have competed well;
I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.
From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me,
which the Lord, the just judge,
will award to me on that day, and not only to me,
but to all who have longed for his appearance.

Responsorial Psalm PS 71:8-9, 14-15AB, 16-17, 22

R. (see 15ab) I will sing of your salvation.
My mouth shall be filled with your praise,
with your glory day by day.
Cast me not off in my old age;
as my strength fails, forsake me not.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
But I will always hope
and praise you ever more and more.
My mouth shall declare your justice,
day by day your salvation. 
R. I will sing of your salvation.
I will treat of the mighty works of the Lord;
O GOD, I will tell of your singular justice.
O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
So will I give you thanks with music on the lyre,
for your faithfulness, O my God!
I will sing your praises with the harp,
O Holy One of Israel!
R. I will sing of your salvation.

Alleluia SEE LK 2:19

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed is the Virgin Mary who kept the word of God
and pondered it in her heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel LK 2:41-51

Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
“Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
And he said to them,
“Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them;
and his mother kept all these things in her heart.