Jerusalem  A twelve year old boy has been missing the past three days.  His parents, Mary and Joseph, were returning to Nazareth after celebrating the Passover and mistakenly believed Jesus was in their company.  It wasn’t until they traveled a day that they realized the child was not with any of their relatives.  They immediately returned to Jerusalem and have been searching for the boy, but he is no where to be found.

“I am wrought with guilt,” Mary reports.  “The angel told me this was the Son of God, and I’ve lost him.”

Family and authorities plan on continuing the search until Jesus is found.

I can’t imagine the anxiety, guilt and fear that plagued Mary and Joseph as they searched for Jesus.  Two full days passed looking high and low throughout Jerusalem to no avail.  Two days!   I lost my son in Kohl’s once for less than five minutes.  It took at least four hours for my heart to stop racing.

The hunt ended as Mary and Joseph entered the temple.  Jesus sat among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

“Son, why have you treated us like this?  Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

“Why were you searching for me?” he (Jesus) asked.  “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”  Luke 2:48, 49

Jesus wasn’t lost or absent.  People just looked for him in the wrong places.

Isn’t the same still true today?