Why Were You Looking for Me?
Br. Xavier Marie Wu, O.P., reflects on the Gospel for the Feast of the Holy Family (Lk 2:41-52) in our weekly video series.
One time as a child, I decided to wander off from my mom in a supermarket. It was fun for just about thirty seconds until my heart began to race, and I burst out crying. My mind went blank, and I was terribly shaken.
This is the polar opposite of what happened to the child Jesus when Mary and Joseph found Him in the temple. In contrast to me, He was quite composed and verbal when Mary and Joseph found him in the temple.
It is easy to simply brush off the difference by saying that He is God and I am not. But, I think there is more. So, what precisely is the difference?
I cried because I was afraid, because I feared that I had lost my mom, who up to that point has been a source of security. This loving union between us can really be severed. And that thought was terrifying.
In contrast, the child Jesus was fully secure. But how? Christ was fully secured in His divine family. From all eternity, He dwells with the Father and the Holy Spirit; The three persons are united in a bond that transcends both time and space. And nothing in the world can sever or destroy it.
Herein lies a great mystery: that God, in His Incarnation, chose not only to take on human flesh, but also to assume a human family that He might save not only us as fallen individuals but also our broken families by grafting them unto Himself and incorporating even our families into His Divine Family.
This is why we rejoice in the season of Christmas even though we may be physically or spiritually separated from our earthly families and our heart aches to be united with our loved ones.
We can hope that God, who gave up His life for our sake, will unite us again in His heavenly banquet—where He will wipe away every tear from our eyes, where there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, when the prodigal son shall return, the lost found, and all flesh shall see the salvation of our God.
