Jesus, Addie, and School

On Wednesday nights at church I have been leading a Bible study and we are currently reading Luke's gospel. For this week we are focusing on the portion in chapter two where Jesus' family travels to Jerusalem for a festival. As they head back home they realize Jesus is not traveling in their company, so Mary and Joseph head back toward Jerusalem to find their boy.

As I have been reading this over the last several days I've had a difficult time understanding their reaction. I figured that Mary, who had been pondering stuff in her heart, had a better inkling of what Jesus was to be about. However, Jesus' parents were angry with him for staying behind and not joining them as a boy his age should have. He wasn't old enough to be sitting around with teachers and playing adult games like this. He was a boy after all and they were his parents. It wasn't time for this yet, right?

Tonight we went to a Back to School night for Addie's pre-school, which is located in a local grade school. The minute we walked in things felt funny. It was chaotic. Lines here, forms there, sign-ups for PTO, Fundraising, etc. Then there was the big gym and a bunch of classrooms with kids and parents going every which way. Next to me is my little three-year-old, pint-sized daughter wearing her Princess Tiana backpack. On her tiptoes she's barely able to get a drink from the fountain and in two days she would be starting pre-school.

I get where Mary and Joseph are coming from. I want to protect Addie from the chaos of the world. She doesn't need to learn "adult" stuff yet, that'll come all too soon. I want her home with her mom and me where we can control her little world. I get Mary and Joseph's reaction now--I don't think they were angry with Jesus, I just think they weren't ready for him to be about his Father's business. After all it's the unknown that's out of our control.