Over this past year, I have had the privilege of being assigned to a local middle school to provide weekly counseling to emotionally troubled seventh and eighth graders. It has been a bittersweet reminder of “the best of times, the worst of times” as I companion youth and their parents through the great divide between childhood and adolescence. I find this to be an especially paradoxical time when, despite great qualms and transitions, “middlers” become certain that they know it all. It is the age of exploring individuality and independence. Inevitably, parents are astonished, again and again, by the unpredictable that emerges from the child they thought they knew.
This portal into adolescence is a time of tremendous physical and emotional awakenings; a time of self-exploration, of testing limits, of trying to figure things out. This stage also brings a new spiritual consciousness, as beliefs and values are gathered from trusted peers and elders, tested and “tried on” for personal fit. A relationship with God becomes more tangible. Emerging beliefs are strongly felt but largely unrefined. It is an unsettled time, filled with tensions between conformity and defiance, as young teens come to a place where they can be who they are, at least for the moment. Ahhh, to be twelve again …
Life was no different for Jesus in this coming-of-age story found only in the gospel of Luke. He is twelve and has traveled with his family to the festival of Passover. But when it is time to go home, Jesus quietly asserts his independence and stays behind. This ultimately causes great parental turmoil before they finally locate him back in the Temple. His adolescent response, “Where else would I be?,” is classic. The Temple must seem like such a logical choice to him, since he has officially entered manhood in his Jewish tradition. Now he is forging his personal identity, trying to understand his world, asking lots of questions of the teachers. He is led by his spiritual stirrings, a longing to be in his Father’s house, to fully understand his relationship with God. Jesus is also experiencing the fullness and frailty of his humanity as an adolescent, unaware that his independent choices might unintentionally hurt those who love him the most. Jesus is obedient after this incident. And his dear mother cherishes these memories of his youth in her heart.
Lent is also a season of awakenings, a time to be led by our spiritual stirrings into a deeper, more intentional relationship with our Divine Creator who is always inviting us closer. The Lent of my childhood called for a somber, penitential response. My understanding has matured; this sacred space has become a time of germination and anticipation. It requires a premeditated, daily ritual of preparing heart and mind to receive God. This practice is much like tilling the soil, removing rocks and old roots, so that seeds of hope can be planted and new life in Christ may emerge. As faithful Christians, it would be easy to think “we know it all,” that we’ve “done” Lent before and we know what’s expected. Yet, as this story points out, even the Son of God needed to ask lots of questions of the teachers, seek his unique place in his Father’s house, and develop an emerging relationship with God through his humanity.
Perhaps it is through revitalized seeking that we ultimately discover newness of Life through the risen Christ. Will you listen to the spiritual promptings of your heart this Lent in a new, mature way, only to discover unexpected Grace?
—Aileen Loranger
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