The hidden life of Jesus, from his birth and presentation to his instruction as a boy of the elders in the temple, is precisely that— hidden and unchronicled. One might turn to the pious works of personal revelation or to the Gnostic gospels for more details, but the data would be highly suspect. However, we can surmise various things about this time based upon the environment into which Jesus was born. At one point he is identified as “the carpenter’s son,” denoting the occupation and singular esteem belonging to his foster father, Joseph. No doubt Jesus would have learned his father’s trade and may have been actively engaged in it prior to his public ministry. Joseph is absent from the picture when Jesus emerges as a man in the Gospels. From this we can conclude that the protector of the Holy Family had passed away. There is a beautiful statue at St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal, Canada that depicts the aged Joseph dying in the arms of Mary and Jesus. Jesus would have been faithful to his family, worked for its benefit, and have followed the rituals and dictates of the Hebrew faith. While the Gnostics would fabricate all sorts of stories about the child giving life to clay birds, cursing another boy dead, and striking his entire town blind— such fables were a direct affront to the humility with which he embraced the incarnation. I would suspect that he was a good boy, indeed the best boy who ever lived, but still one who would have blended in with the crowd. Just as we cherish the intimacy and privacy of our families, so too did Jesus enjoy this special time— basking in the joys of just being human. His ministry and struggle would come soon enough. By our standards, his was a poor family and yet in his own day they might have been considered middle-class. His was the seed of greatness waiting to blossom— and when it did— nothing would ever be the same again.
Many blessings,
Fr. Joe Jenkins
I want to get sermon of the advent and some stories which agreed with the advent season because in our place , people are not educated. when we preach we need to put stories in our ser. so help me . Now I am shortage of stories
http://www.frtommylane.com/stories.htm
A good day to you Father.! Can I ask you a question? What happened to Jesus during his age of 12-30 years old? What are the miracles, missions and important things that happened to Jesus in that time?
We really do not know, that is why that time is called the hidden or secret years of Christ. The Gnostic gospels seek to fill in the gap, but these documents are heretical and fanciful. Jesus makes clay birds like other children, but he breathes on them and they come to life. He gets into a fight with another little boy and Jesus strikes him dead with a word. The townspeople come complaining to Mary and he curses them, making everyone blind. These stories are not to be trusted.
Our presumption is that Jesus spent thirty years or so as an ordinary Jew. He probably practiced Joseph’s trade and was a hardworking and loving son to Joseph and Mary. Other than that, we can say little. When he was about twelve we find him teaching the teachers in the Temple, but we will not see him again until he is a mature man beginning his public ministry.