THE SORROWFUL PAPENTS
／Evelyn O. Shih
When Jesus was twelve years old, he went to Jerusalem with his
parents for the feast of the Passover. On their way home, the parents
couldn't find him, for he was still in the Temple, sitting among the
teachers, listening and asking questions. The mother found him and said
at once "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have
been anxiously (sorrowfully -KJV) searching for you."
I couldn't hold myself from chuckling of this mother, who turned
out to be a normal mother just like us, although she had been chosen
and greatly blessed by God to be Jesus' physical mother. At first, she
was self-centered. Her first word should have been: How have you been?
Are you hungry? Where did you sleep for the last three days? Who gave
you food? But instead, she said: Why have you treated us like that?
You made us anxiously and sorrowfully search for you among relatives
and friends. Every time when we asked 'have you seen our son?' would
get a sneering response or some lecturing: Why didn't you assemble your
family before you started your trip back? Now, after a whole day, you
are just becoming aware that you have lost your son? What kind of parents
are you?
Parental love is limited when it comes to face-losing. Especially
we Chinese. Don't we often scold our children with: Don't you ever put
us in shame! So the children get the impression that doing well in
studies is not to get a good education but to please the parents. The
same with their behavior, it is not for a moral standard but to give
the parents something to brag about. If we were the prodigal son's
father, the most we could do was to accept him secretly at home;
absolutely no welcome feast.
Secondly, she blamed her son before she tried to understand the
situation. Joseph and Mary had both been revealed directly from God
that their son would be the Son of God, the savior. They were only God's
steward to take care of the child. So when Jesus said 'Didn't you know
I had to be in my Father's house?' they should remember their positions
and leave Jesus in the Temple right away, just like what Samuel's mother,
Hannah did. They didn't and Jesus went down to Nazareth with them and
was obedient to them.
Of course, our children are not as special as Jesus, yet our position
are the same as Jesus' parents, merely stewards appointed by God to
take care of our children. We should understand and support their
interests and goals of life. We just stand aside helping them to realize
who their real Father in order to have direct connection with Him. In
this way, we won't be sorrowful but happy and blessed parents
