And when Jesus was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing Him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for Him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for Him. (Luke 2:42-45)
Seems like it took Mary and Joseph 24 hours to figure out their 12 year old was not with them. They were content for Jesus to be in among their 'relatives and acquaintances'. And even as meal times rolled around, they didn't worry that Jesus wasn't to be seen. They assumed that their extended family was doing its job.
Interesting assumptions about child rearing and family huh?
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These days they would have been arrested for 'child endangerment'.
For so many parents that are constantly doting over their little 'angels', the best place for their kids is anywhere but around them.
In our Sunday School, the kids behave fairly well, until their parents come around, and then they quite often act like spoiled brats.
In better days gone by, it was the opposite.
It's amazing what being rooted in community will do. These days we treat our children differently because there's no one around us whom we know well enough to trust in that way.
I spent 10 years in an intentional community, and any one of us could have done exactly what Mary and Joseph did here. We knew each other and depended on one another, so it was natural for our kids to happily spend hours and evenings away from us.
Get rid of our TVs, Facebook, and commutes and we'd be just like this.
Possibly also something to do with family size? Children with lots of sibs, with cousins also in large families, all together at some big family-friendly event ... most parents would only expect to see them if there was floods of tears involved :)