The Child in the Temple.
NOW, every year, these parents
Jerusalem did seek;
To keep the feast of passover,
And spend the holy week.
And when the child was twelve years old,
They did as heretofore;
And went up to Jerusalem,
The road oft traveled o'er.
They kept the feast as usual,
And, then, with cheerful mind,
Returned the way that they had come—
But Jesus stayed behind.
The parents traveled all day long,
Believing that their Son,
Somewhere, among the company,
Was coming safely on.
But when, at evening, they encamped,
And sought for Him around,
To their surprise and sore distress,
He was not to be found.
Still seeking Him they turned their face,
And traveled back again,
The old road to Jerusalem;
But seeking was in vain.
For three days long they went about,
Within the city lines,
Then, in the temple, found the lad,
Among the great divines.
He sat and heard the doctors talk,
And asked them questions wise;
And all who listened were amazed
At his profound replies.
And His parents were astonished
When they beheld Him thus,
And Mary said: "O why, my son,
Hast thou so dealt with us?
"Thy father, Joseph, and myself
Have three days sought for thee,
And sorrowed greatly, fearing we
Thy face no more would see."
Then Jesus, gravely, said to them:
"Wherefore my absence mourn?
My Father's work I have to do,
Till I to Him return."
And Mary, in her inmost heart,
Did secretely confine
The things He did, the words he spoke,
This wondrous Child Divine.
And Jesus rich in wisdom grew,
As passed the years of youth,
And gained the favor of all men,
By virtue and by truth.