＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Indeed the love of Christ

holds us and we realize that if he died for all, all have died.   He died for all so that those who live may live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and rose again for them.   And so from now on, we do not regard anyone from a human point of view; and even if we once knew Christ personally, we should now regard him in another way.

For that same reason, the one who is in Christ is a new creature. For him the old things have passed away; a new world has come.   All this is the work of God who in Christ reconciled us to himself, and who entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation. Because in Christ God reconciled the world with himself, no longer taking into account their trespasses and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

 So we present ourselves as ambassadors in the name of Christ, as if God himself makes an appeal to you through us. Let God reconcile you; this we ask you in the name of Christ.  He had no sin, but God made him bear our sin, so that in him we might share the holiness of God.

 

Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10,11-12

The Lord is kind and merciful.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊     

Luke 2:41-51

 Every year the parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover, as was customary.   And when Jesus was twelve years old, he went up with them according to the custom for this feast.   After the festival was over, they re­turned, but the boy Jesus remained in Je­rusalem and his parents did not know it.

 They thought he was in the company and after walking the whole day they looked for him among their relatives and friends.   As they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem searching for him,   and on the third day they found him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions.  And all the people were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

 His parents were very surprised when they saw him and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I were very worried while searching for you.”   Then he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Do you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”   But they did not understand this answer.

Jesus went down with them, returning to Nazareth, and he continued to be subject to them. As for his mother, she kept all these things in her heart.

 

Gospel Reflection：

Going to the Temple of Jerusalem is an exciting event for a Jew, especially if it is not done often. Jesus who is now an adolescent must have felt the excitement like any normal young Jew of His time. He goes with His extended family. It is a religious as well as a social and cultural journey.

But Jesus got caught not in the wonders of a cosmopolitan city such as Jerusalem. He is fascinated by the discourse the teachers do regarding the scriptutes. And so, he forgot time and the urgency of going home with his parents and kin. He was absorbed by the task at hand. He does not even feel vulnerable in such a vast and crowded place far from his familiar adults. He was at home in His Father’s house.