How was it that the temple was the last place they looked? Dr. Satterlee wonders aloud: "Had things been so blessedly ordinary for so long — no more angels, adoring shepherds, and [scriptural] prophesies — that the mystery surrounding their son’s birth had begun to fade like a dream? Or maybe Mary and Joseph were aware of what their son would do and become, but figured that was years away. Perhaps Jesus hadn’t shown any signs of theological curiosity and so his parents couldn’t imagine him hanging out in the temple. Maybe Mary and Joseph simply failed to see that their baby was growing up."
In Luke's words, Mary and Joseph "found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them, and asking them questions; and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when they saw him they were astonished..." (Luke 2:48)
Here Luke begins to hint at how Jesus learned to teach, and how he will sound when he is a full-fledged rabbi: "And I tell you, 'Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.'" (Luke 11:9)
What did Jesus do when he was in the temple? He sat, listened, asked, understood, and shared his thoughts in the communal exploration. We too are invited to do these things. These are ordinary spiritual practices--and also exciting and unpredictable, as all who are present contribute to the wisdom, and travel together into perspectives and possibilities that we cannot imagine from where we are now.
This reflection's title is based on the lyrics of the song "I'll Be Seeing You in All the Old Familiar Places" written by Irving Kahal in 1938 and recorded by Billie Holiday in 1944.
The Rev. Dr. Craig Alan Satterlee's full reflections on this passage can be found at workingpreacher.org