Read Luke 2:36-52
“Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
How often are children not understood? The experience of not being understood can be frustrating and alienating. Jesus does not seem to respond this way. He does seem to wonder at the anxiety contained by Mary and Joseph. His presence in the Temple seems reasonable and even necessary. Mary and Joseph’s anxiety seems reasonable too as parents. Jesus though even at twelve demonstrates a calm presence. He does not try to rescue his parents from their sense of being victimized by His pursuit of God.
In our pursuit of God and by aligning ourselves with His will we may be misunderstood. Our anxieties about that could produce resentment. But Jesus shows us another way.
Our Heavenly Father, grant me the grace of a character shaped by You. Help me manage my internal world and anxieties so that I may fully enter into relationships and the realities of this world fully responsive and obedient to You without fear, rage, or bitterness.
In Jesus Name, Amen.