Saint Jospeh, still

What 20-something hasn't stepped out of a structured environment--a school, a hometown, a job, a relationship--to find him/herself bombarded with questions, both internal and external, of where are you going? what are you doing?. The story of Jesus separating from his parents, getting lost among busyness, is one of those stories that feels relevant even now.

What strikes me most about this reading is when the young Jesus asks, "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" (Luke 2:49).

Why do I trouble myself constantly with questions of where am I now in my life? where am I trying to go?

Isn't it true that no matter where I go, I am in the house of God and where I am trying to go is going further in my relationship with the Lord. Maybe it isn't so bad to feel a little lost in everyday life, in a certain time or place in my life, because there's a wonderful opportunity in that feeling "lost" to deepen my trust in the Holy Spirit, to cultivate my relationship and reliance on God. Instead of questioning myself as to where I am going in my life, feeling aimless at times, I should take comfort in the words of the Lord, "I must be in my Father's house".

In a greater metro area populated with quite a few people who seem so "together" with their life, confident in their career choices and so goal-orientated and driven, it is easy to feel lost in comparison. But even the most together appearing people may merely be complete in a secular sense, but lost in spirit. There is such a distinction between being a little confounded by a temporary sense of disorientation with the many life changes thrust upon 20-somethings as we navigate our new worlds and with a deep spiritual misguidance that surely troubles the soul much more profoundly.

It is a little exciting, to think of the hidden invitation in this Gospel-- go ahead, try to get lost, run amok in a chaotic crowded festival, but with a careful soul turned always to the Lord, you'll never be lost and never homesick. For you are always held safe "in the Father's house".