The other day, I was working in my garden when my three-year-old neighbor told me there was a phone call for me. She came over to the fence and handed me a red plastic receiver that was attached (by yarn) to a brightly colored rotary-dial model that reminded me of my own Fisher Price variety when I was a kid. Now, I don’t care how busy you are or how important your tasks may be; when a little kid hands you a toy telephone, you take it and say “hello.”
That’s the appeal of little children. Sticky hands, runny noses and heartbreaking howls aside, they are truly the greatest gift God has given us. In fact, when you think about it- when God decided to come to Earth, He chose to start off as a child. Can you blame Him? Children are the very essence of innocence and purity that are simply happy to be part of creation and maybe the only humans who do not take any of it for granted.
Who else but a child sees accomplishment in tying their shoes, riding a bike or pouring a cup of milk without spilling it for the first time? What may look like minor milestones to us now seemed like monumental achievements back then and that’s the beauty of childhood. Only a child can see the rose in every dandelion, the Picasso in every finger painting and the diamonds in the glass ring they win at the school carnival and proudly give to their mother.
No wonder Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me.” They must have seemed like a refreshing change for a man who was surrounded by people constantly questioning His teachings, asking Him for miracles or begging his forgiveness. As a general rule children want very little from the adults in their life: a kind word, a loving smile, to show you the new freckle they found on their arm or to tell you that you have a pretend call on a pretend phone. When you stop and think about it, isn’t that all God really asks of us as well: A kind word, a loving smile, a little of our time, and for us to take stock in every day and everything we have been given?
Although I am sure the children who were around Him at the time felt honored to be in the presence of the Lord, I can’t help thinking that the feeling was probably mutual. After all, at that precious moment in their lives when their faith is at its zenith, when they take the world at face value and find fascination with everything God has given them, who did they want to share it with the most?
Christ is on line two for you…is there a child inside whose willing to take the call.
Todays Mass readings are: JAS 5:13-20; PS 141:1-2,3 and 8; MK 10:13-16
