YOUCAT Question n. 86 - Part I. Why did Jesus wait thirty years to begin his public life?
(Youcat
answer) Jesus wanted to share a normal life with us and thus sanctify our
everyday routine.
A deepening through CCC
(CCC 531)
During the greater part of his life Jesus shared the condition of the vast
majority of human beings: a daily life spent without evident greatness, a life
of manual labor. His religious life was that of a Jew obedient to the law of
God (Cf. Gal 4:4), a life in the
community. From this whole period it is revealed to us that Jesus was
"obedient" to his parents and that he "increased in wisdom and
in stature, and in favor with God and man" (Lk 2:51-52).
Reflecting and meditating
(Youcat comment) Jesus was a
child who received love and affection from his parents and was brought up by
them. Thus he increased “in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and
man” (Lk 2:52); he belonged to a Jewish village community and took part in its
religious rituals; he learned a trade and had to prove his ability as a
craftsman. The fact that God in Jesus willed to be born into a human family and
to grow up in it has made the family a place where God is present and a
prototype of a helping community.
(CCC Comment)
(CCC 532)
Jesus' obedience to his mother and legal father fulfills the fourth commandment
perfectly and was the temporal image of his filial obedience to his Father in
heaven. The everyday obedience of Jesus to Joseph and Mary both announced and
anticipated the obedience of Holy Thursday: "Not my will…" (Lk
22:42). The obedience of Christ in the daily routine of his hidden life was
already inaugurating his work of restoring what the disobedience of Adam had
destroyed (Cf. Rom 5:19). (CCC 564) By his obedience to Mary and Joseph, as
well as by his humble work during the long years in Nazareth, Jesus gives us
the example of holiness in the daily life of family and work.
No comments:
Post a Comment