Left behind

After Luke 2:41-47

The annual trip

to the big city,

the annual feast

of Passover,

a custom observed

every year, a ritual

of faith, a ritual

of observance,

a ritual of family,

a loud, noisy, large

group of relatives

traveling, worshipping

together. Amidst

the noise and chaos

of leaving, no one sees

the boy isn’t there,

the boy is left behind,

Frantic parents

return and search,

search for three days,

and on the third day

they find him,

find him in the most

unexpected place,

the temple,

find him among

the teachers,

listening, asking

questions, questions

so profound that 

the boy has amazed

the teachers and

drawn a crowd, 

people there simply

to hear his questions.

 

Photograph by Jaikishan Patel via Unsplash. Used with permission.