Exodus 17:1-7

1 Corinthians 9:24-10:5

Matthew 20:1-16

Jesus grew up as part of a church-going family. The primary vocation of parents is to raise their children in the fear and knowledge of the Lord. Parents should do everything in their power to bias their children toward God and the church which God himself has established.

When Jesus was 12 years old his family brought him to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover. This foreshadows Jesus' death as the firstborn, of the death of the Passover lamb. God saved us with his own son, with his own unblemished lamb.

Jesus was perplexed at his parents' distress, much as he was perplexed at his disciple's fear. Jesus is genuinely perplexed by us as well: by our worries, and our fears. Are you not his? Has ne not purchased you with his own blood? Has he who made you not also redeemed you? Has he who elected you before the foundation of the world now forgotten you? Is not his God and Father now not your God and Father? Why are you so anxious, so distressed?

Like Jesus' parents in the temple, like Martha in the kitchen, we are all anxious and troubled about many things. Why? Because we are sinners. If there can be no good works apart from faith then is not also a lack of faith that is at the root of every sin?

Our father knows our every weakness, our doubts, our regrets, our disordered desires. Yet our heavenly father absolves us. "I forgive you all your sins."We fell in the garden because we did not believe God's word. We have fallen countless sins since because we have not believed Gods word. So God has arranged that all shall be restored precisely when we do believe his word. And that word is as simple as it is profound: "I forgive you", he says, "for the sake of Jesus. And I reckon you to be righteous, clothed and covered with righteousness simply because you have believed what I said."

God justifies the ungodly, and he counts our faith in his word as righteousness, as if we had never sinned at all. So God is not ashamed of you.

Let us then with Mary treasure these things in our hearts.