The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the
greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” He
called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you,
unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of
heaven. Matthew 18:1-3
Piety
In the face of the dangers
(real and imagined) that we hear about daily, there may be no aspect of
Catholic piety which is as comforting as the belief that an angel protects all
of us from the dangers of ISIS, ebola, White House fence-jumpers, and people
who will kidnap children and college students.
Lucky for us that “guardian angels” are not only for children. They represent individuals before God, to
watch over them always, to aid their prayer and to present their souls to God
at death. As we get older, we can rely
on the hope of Job for these angels to steer us back onto the path which Jesus
asks us to walk with Him.
Study
Children – and protecting
children -- play a pivotal role in Sacred Scripture. In the Hebrew Bible, one of the central
responsibilities for the ruler was to care for orphans and widows. Thus, a mark of a great king was how the
least powerful in the kingdom were treated.
The dawning of the New
Testament would challenge the people to live up to that same standard because when
the Lord came into the world, he did not come as a powerful king but as a
feeble, powerless child dependent upon others to make his way in the world. The
challenge was to care for this baby who was the key to the hopes of our past,
present and future.
Once Jesus started his
ministry, we see him interact with children often and, like today, use children
as the image and ideal for the greatest in the Kingdom. The delivery of this lesson would puzzle the
disciples because children had no power in ancient Palestine. Dismissed also was the bickering between
disciples about who would sit at the right and left hand of the Lord in
heaven. Jesus, instead, wants them (and
by extension us) to aspire to be like children, not like the rich and the
powerful.
How did they do? Did the disciples take on this mantle of
innocence and obedience? We get a hint
at that answer in John 21. After being
locked in the upper room and failing to go out in the world and preach the Good
News, Peter announces that he is going fishing instead. The other disciples follow him.
So they went out and got into the boat, but that night
they caught nothing. When
it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not
realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” (John
21:3-5)
Jesus addresses the boatful
of his disciples as “children.” He
recognizes that after the fire of experience, they are ready for greater
things. Rather than looking back at what
has transpired – the witness of his public execution, the fear and denial, and
the failure to follow his instructions, Jesus has not given up on them. Jesus gives them another command. This time, they follow without question, even
though as experienced fishermen who have spent an unproductive night on the
lake with their nets, they should be dubious of this stranger on the beach. The disciples put aside the pride of
experience. They do not say, “Who are
you to tell us to keep fishing. With all
of our experience, we know it will fail.
Instead, they obey and meet with great success.
Action
Popular culture wants us
to be “like Mike” (a la Michael Jordan) if we just buy the right shoes, suits
or shirts. It holds up the multi-million
dollar bonuses of the Wall Street titans to tempt us. Then,
it ranks the best college degrees to prepare us for such lucrative careers. In my case, that message came about 40 years
too late. Popular culture, the media and
big advertising tells us to search out the end of year deals on a bigger, brighter,
fancier car, truck or minivan. They
serve up the latest technology promises to deliver us from our dreary existence
until the operating system crashes and our private data is stolen.
Yet none of this gets us
on the path Jesus teaches today. What
will it take for us to be like children?
In some ways, advanced age
brings about that level of dependence. When
we no longer have the strength of mind nor body, we must surrender to others to
care for ourselves – like the anaweim (poor widows and orphans) in the Bible.
However, rather than
waiting for time to take its toll, we have to put aside our wealth, our
professional careers, our pride, and our possessions among other things in
order to take on the demeanor of children of God.
What possessions and
characteristics are you ready to let go?
If change is the end result of what we learn, how will you change as you
consider the lesson Jesus taught today?
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