Reflection

Easter 7  May 24th

A school teacher once gave me some very wise advice. They said that in order to know the student, it was helpful to meet the parents. Meeting Mum and Dad often helped to explain all sorts of things about the student and gave you a bit of background.

I thought about this as I read John 17:3

“And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent”.

So in order to know Jesus, it might be helpful to reflect on Mary and Joseph. They are the bits of the jigsaw puzzle that surround the central figure of Jesus.

Mark and John start their gospel with an adult Jesus. It is left to Luke and Matthew to give us the scanty bits of infant narratives and reveal something of the people who had most the intimate connection with Jesus.

So what do we learn?

From Lukes gospel we learn that Mary and Jospeh set out when Jesus was old enough to go to Jerusalem for the rite of purification. And…

Each year they used to go up to Jerusalem for the feast of the passover.

Jospeh and Mary were good practising Jews. They would have gone to the synagogue on a regular basis and this in part explains why we read in Jesus adult life.

“When Jesus came to Nazareth, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as… was… his… custom”.

And I reckon there must have been times when the homily at the synagogue was tedious, or their local rabbi made a mistake, or the parishioners, like us, struggled with their faith. But Mary and Joseph would have persisted and got themselves to synagogue on the sabbath.

So thats one thing we learn about Jospeh and Mary - faithfulness.

What else do we learn?

Mary and Jospeh were open to Gods surprises for them. The Archangel Gabrielle was a surprise for Mary. Jospeh is a man tormented by dreams where he is encouraged to take his fiancée as his wife when he has privately made up his mind to do other wise. Their travel plans back home to Galilee were messed about first by Herod and then by Herod's son Archelaus.

When they lose their son in Jerusalem they are surprised at Jesus response when they vent their understandable angst and relief.

“Did you not know I must be about my Fathers business?’

I wonder if Mary and Jospeh told child Jesus about the interruptions to their humdrum life. Certainly if Mary was anything like my Mum, she would be frequently recounting his mysterious, yet joyful birth and the time he wandered off all by himself. Perhaps Mary told Jesus about or fleeing from Herod.

My guess is that Jesus knew he also worshipped the God surprise and mystery. Always just getting a small part of the picture which tantalised and drew you into wanting to know more and understand more deeply.

Jesus grew up knowing that God interrupts with surprises and plans of his own and sometimes they are not altogether to our liking and certainly they are frequently beyond our understanding.

One final thing about Mary and Jospeh. They knew that it wasn’t about them. Yes they were important and without Mary saying Yes and Jospeh’s protection there may not have been the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus.

But after all the dreams, surprises, tricks and giggles, Mary and Jospeh understood that it must always be about what God wants. They lived that out in all its ache and sparkle and wonder as they watched Jesus grow and mature. As Luke so beautifully puts it. “Mary pondered all these things in her heart”  and … “the child grew and became strong in Spirit”. It was never just going to be about them. It was always going to be about their son Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ, the son of God.

So too, Jesus knows that He is sent to do his Fathers will and this wrestle is made very clear in the Garden of gethsemane and on the cross.

“Not my will but your will”. “Into your hands I commend my spirit.”

So what might we learn?

That our vocation is to simply to be faithful. To rock up as often as we can and connect in what ever way we can, and love him as passionately as we can.

We learn that we worship a God of surprise and that we ought not to be surprised, if we are surprised.

Finally its always been about Him and clergy in particular need to be reminded that it always about the one true high priest.

So by reflecting on Mary and Jospeh, we get a  more comprehensive understanding of who Jesus is and nudge each other just a little closer to eternal life.

Remember where we began?

And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.