(Baruch 1:15-22; Psalm 79:1B-2, 3-5, 8,9; Matthew 18:1-5, 10)
Jesus said “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven…” Given the reward, eternal happiness in the Kingdom of heaven, one would assume that mankind would earnestly desire to become like children. However, a quick survey of humanity reveals to us that mankind, in large part, has been led astray by sin.
Much like the Israelites during their captivity in Babylonian, we too suffer the consequences of sin that has passed down through the generations. We honor false gods, we seek happiness through the “good” our own evil heart’s desire and we do evil in the sight of the one true God. Since the Fall, mankind has not heeded the voice of God fully, nor do we seem to hear the voices of many a prophet or saint whom God has sent to us.
However, not all is lost. God continues to send us great saints and loving children who, as a result of their imitation of Christ, offer us a light in the darkness. We are all called to be these children, children who become the light of the world for all to see. A light we become when our eyes are fixed on God and when our hearts are united with Christ who alone reveals the miracle laden path towards the Father.
So how do we become these little children? How do we affect real change in the world? Jesus, in all his love for us, gave us the answer, it is through humility that we move into our fullness. “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven”. Humility is so vitally important that Jesus gave it to us in the first Beatitude ““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Saint Augustine tells that the poor in spirit are those who are humble and who fear God.
Did you know that the word “blessed” can equally be interpreted as “happy”? The Greek root word (makarios) is appropriately translated as either blessed or happy. Arguably, the word happy is a more accurate translation. At our core we seek happiness; however, history reveals to us that human beings continually become disillusioned and confused. No wonder the Beatitudes reveal to us how to achieve real happiness. Unfortunately, we seek an empty happiness, an allusion that will never provide for us access to the true Kingdom, let alone ensure that we will we be “the greatest” among its residents.
Worse yet, we pass this disillusionment and confusion onto the generations that follow, here the little children suffer and they in turn carry the wounds into the next generation. Transforming childhood wounds created by such brokenness is necessary for mankind to truly live as God promises. Over my years in practice I have found that forgiveness and acceptance lay at the foundation of such transformation. Not only do we receive peace when we step into forgiveness, we also receive a newness in life when we accept our life as it is, the good and the bad, when we stop holding hope that it could/should be different. Recognizing the sins of ourselves and of our fathers, as the Israelites did in Babylonian, and acknowledging that our faces too are “flushed with shame”, takes humility. God intended for his children to flourish and for parents to love, nurture, protect and provide for their little ones. However, evil entered in and we now experience a painful distance from God as a result. The sacred elixir of humility, when we put the other before ourselves, contains the miraculous power to transcend such pains.
So where do we go from here? We surrender to humility, we learn how to forgive and we learn how to accept truth from the one who is The Way, The Truth and The Life. Jesus Christ will lead us and we once again will become like little children following him towards the Kingdom. However, this time we will carry with us the battle wounds suffered on this planet, wounds that have been transformed and healed so that we become wise little children enjoying our true inheritance from our perfect Father, all the while being watched over by God’s angels who forever keep their eyes upon Him.
Jesus – I love you!
