The Gospel according to Matthew (18:1-5, 10, 12-14)
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.
Whoever becomes humble like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.
What is your opinion?
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost.”
Reflection:
As anyone who has become a parent (or more recently, a grandparent) can definitely attest to, there is nothing to compare with the innocence of young children. They conduct themselves with a purity that I’m sad to say doesn’t endure, as they become cynical or suspicious, and no longer take things at face value as they once did. The other thing I especially love about that phase of life is how they love completely, with total abandon. Why do they lose that characteristic?
On this day in Ordinary Time, we are called to ponder that a bit, as God calls us to love Him with the same innocence and the same abandon that I just described. How are we doing with loving Him in that way? For me, on the best days, I feel that I come close to that same level of love and innocence. I recognize that God is present and working actively through me, extending His love. Unfortunately, there are also days when I lose sight of that, and am uncaring and that light of love is not shining very brightly for me.
If that was the end of the story, those days would be ones of darkness and sadness, wouldn’t they? The good news is that it isn’t the end. Just as Jesus describes in the last part of today’s Gospel, He comes and seeks us out, calling us gently to return to Him and like that joyful shepherd, he puts us on His own shoulders and carries us back home. It’s a great lesson and reminder. We can *know* a lot of things. We can think we *know* it all. But, we will never know *all*. Instead, we long for that day, as Paul writes in that wondrous chapter on Love, 1 Corinthians 13, of how we will see God face to face and fully know even as we are fully known now.
Let us seek to find that innocence of spirit today as we also ponder St Clare, companion of St Francis of Assisi, who chose to follow God rather than the mandates of her time to be married, and founded an Order of nuns that lived a life of simplicity, faith and contemplation that mirrors that innocence of children so well. May her prayers today before God’s throne in heaven help us to love God simply, completely, and with total abandon.
St Clare, pray for us.
Action for the Day:
Pause today and ask God to help you to love Him like a young child. And, if you are brave, ask Him to help you shine that innocent faith by your kind actions, even if others may notice. Know that you are loved totally, even as you are known totally.
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