Boy in the Temple

Sparked by a painting Elfrieda Lepp-Kaethler has helped place in our library, of Jesus in the Temple being questioned by his elders.

Questions hang in the air round the child;

Law delving through law deep into the loam
Of Wisdom. Faces crowd round the who and why,
The catechized One in his elders’ home.
Law shows the way for a young boy to grow,
To become the Law’s son at the right time.
Questions reveal what the teachers don’t know:
The son of the Law is Himself the Sign.

Questions decay in the soil of our lives,

Creating new life for deep-buried word.
And as we turn to the old and the wise,
Seed blooms before us, a gift from our Lord.
Living with questions, vehicles of grace,
Luring us onwards, unveiling His face.

Daryl Climenhaga, June 2014
(with help from Alison)