The Boy Jesus at the Temple (Luke

The Boy Jesus at the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) Fr. Dr. Patrick Merceline D’Souza
In this gospel passage from (Luke 2:41-52) Luke describes the presence of Jesus at the temple where as a boy of 12 years of age, Jesus engages in a dialogue with the teachers, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
(Please read this entire passage (Luke 2:41-52) from the Bible or from Google so that you will understand this reflection better)
41 “Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom.” (Luke 2:41-42)
The Holy Family: This is the story of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Joseph and Mary were exemplary parents who were a holy people who followed all the religious customs and rituals of their religion. In this story we see that the parents of Jesus had gone to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover which was the custom and a requirement of their religion. This shows that they faithfully followed the teachings of their religion.
Today all the members of the Holy Family are inviting us to follow all the customs of our religion faithfully. Because true religion consists not only of the Faith, the Articles of Faith or the Dogmas of that religion but it also includes the customs, religious practices and the rituals which the followers of that particular religion have to follow. The customs, religious practices and the rituals are the external aspects of any religion. Though these are the external manifestations of the inner core of the religion that is the Faith, the Articles of Faith or the Dogmas, they are significant components of the religion. A true follower of any religion faithfully follows these customs and external manifestations of his/her religion. In this sense Mary and Joseph were faithful followers of their religion which they demonstrated by going to Jerusalem every year as reported by Luke: “Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover.” (Luke 2:41)