Revealed to the Childlike
July 18, 2012
Wednesday
of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
By Colleen O'Sullivan
At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I
give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have
hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the
childlike. Yes, Father, such has been
your gracious will. All things have been
handed over to me by my Father. No one
knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and
anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” (Matthew 11:25-27)
Piety
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and do not lean on
your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)
Lord, let me be as open as a small
child to what you are saying and revealing to me today. May I love you with abandon, trust you with
all my heart, and delight in the wonders of your creation.
Study
I know not everyone would agree with me, but I find
babies and small children delightful.
Yes, they are very needy and sometimes very loud in their needs and
wants, but I find being with them refreshing after spending most of my time in
the world of adults.
One of my friends has a 20-month-old grandson. He loves his “Nana” with all his heart. When she arrives, he runs to the door, full
of welcoming hugs and kisses. No matter
how short or long the visit, he wails when it’s time for her to leave.
My friend posted a photo on Facebook of the two of
them at the beach. There they are, hand
in hand, walking across the sand toward the water. Little ones are so very trusting. They depend on us to take care of them. They bring their hurts and troubles to be
soothed, believing that we will make everything all right in their world.
Watch a baby’s expression sometime as she discovers
her toes or realizes she can roll over.
The look of wonder is priceless.
Or watch a little boy’s delight and see the sparkle in his eyes as he experiences
his first snowfall or spends time blowing bubbles with a parent.
It’s sad in a way that as we grow up, we shed some
of these childlike characteristics. We
become more selective in our affections.
We become conscious of what others think of us. We become more sophisticated and cynical, no
longer willing to trust so completely in another. Where once we were full of
wonder and amazement, we are now rushed to meet the demands of our
oh-so-important schedules. If we become
too “wise and learned,” too caught up in ourselves, we can no longer see what
God is trying to show us or say to us.
Jesus says that all is revealed to the childlike –
to those who see with eyes full of wonder and delight, to those whose hearts
overflow with love toward others, to those who put themselves trustingly in the
hands of God.
We grow up and mature. We give up childish ways but hopefully retain
our childlike trust in God and our openness to all that the Lord is doing in
our lives and in the world.
Action
When you have a few minutes, select a miracle or
healing story from one of the Gospels.
Read through it once. Don’t pick
up any commentaries or theology books and look up the passage. Just close your eyes and imagine yourself as
part of the scene. How do you find
yourself reacting? Are you second-guessing
Jesus as the Pharisees did and as many so-called learned adults do? Or are you taking it all in with the
wide-eyed acceptance of a child?
No comments:
Post a Comment