About My Father’s Business – Lk. 2:40-52
As we continue going through Luke’s letter to Theophilus, we transition from his birth and infancy to his becoming a man – both physically and legally. We pick up the story when Jesus is about 12 years old. He is likely in the early stages of puberty. He has been studying the Scriptures for at least a few years; now he is old enough to begin learning the oral traditions from the rabbis and priests. From a purely human perspective, everything is lining up just as one would expect.
On the other hand, today’s text will reveal a conflict that Jesus will have to settle one way or another. His literal and spiritual father is none other than Jehovah God himself. But is earthly, adoptive father is Joseph. To whom does Jesus owe allegiance? Is there a way to serve them both without violating God’s command to love and serve him first? What does it mean for Jesus to be about his father’s business?