Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14 (20th Week of Ordinary Time)
In
today’s Gospel, Jesus calls a child forth in response to the disciples’
question: “Who is the greatest in the kingdom?” As he often does,
Jesus does not respond directly to their question. Instead, he calls a
child over and tells them that if they want to enter the kingdom of
heaven, they must be like this child! Did the disciples understand what
Jesus meant? I doubt it!
Perhaps
we need to ask ourselves: how do we need to be like a child? Jesus is
not telling us to be “childish,” but to be “childlike!” What does this
truly mean? What characteristics did Jesus associate with a child? What
“childlike qualities” does Jesus want us to nurture? We can learn a
great deal from children. They are “just who they are” – and that is
enough! Let us also trust that this is what Jesus desires of us!
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