[__01__] Humility
equals greatness. An important message
of the Gospel and Christmas Gospel is that humility is equivalent to greatness.
[__02__] Coming to Mass at Christmas, for the
Nativity of our Lord, we traditionally begin by singing, “Come Let Us Adore
Him, Christ the Lord.”
However,
whom do we adore? To
whom do we pay such homage, such reverence and respect?
A
child, the infant Jesus. As Isaiah prophesied, “You have brought them
abundant joy and great rejoicing … For a child is born to us, a son is given
us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor,
Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. His dominion is vast and forever peaceful.” (Isaiah 9:2, 5, 6)
[*** P A U S E ***]
[__03__] We pay this great reverence and respect to
the child given to us as our Savior.
Later, in the Gospel, our Lord
confirmed and affirmed this. We read that ¨Jesus, calling unto him a little
child, set him in the midst of [the disciples]” (Matthew 18:2).
Then,
Jesus said, “Whoever
therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the
kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:4)
[*** P A U S E ***]
Also,
in the Gospel Book of John, Chapter 3, Jesus instructed the Pharisee and
scholar, Nicodemus about the calling to
spiritual childhood and the calling to be born again.
[elaborate
…exemplify what is this childlike simplicity… wise as a serpent and gentle as a dove? More?]
Having
been told that he was supposed to be born again, Nicodemus repeatedly asks the
logical and scientific questions with skepticism. “How can this be?”
Jesus
tells Nicodemus that we are are born again because God’s Word became flesh and
dwelt among us. The Word of God pitched his tent among us. (John 1:14)
As
Jesus said to Nicodemus and to us, “For God so loved the world that he
gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but
might have eternal life.” (John
3:16)
[__04__] We come to Mass at Christmas and on Sunday
and at any time to church, recognizing that greatness, true greatness comes
from our simplicity, our humility.
[__04.01__] This comes from our acceptance not only of
Jesus as a wise teacher and grown-up. We also adore him as a child, one who is equally our Savior even before he can
speak or walk. He is our Savior even before he was born.
Our
Christian calling, then, is not only to imitate his wisdom as an adult but also his simplicity and humility as a
child. Jesus praised this simplicity in
the child and in his disciples. Of the apostle Nathaniel, for example, Jesus
observed, “Behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile.”
(John
1:47)
Jesus
points out that simplicity – or guilelessness is a difficult and rare virtue.
John Henry Newman summarizes this with the following habits or actions:
1. “Mean
what we say”[& say what we mean]
2. Love
without dissimulation [or without falsehood … as St. Paul writes, “love always
rejoices with the truth.” (1 Corinthians
13:6) There is no false appearance in love.]
3. “Think
no evil”
4. “Bear
no grudge”
5. “Be
free from selfishness”(i.e., don’t ask …”what’s
in it for me?”
6. “Be
innocent and straightforward.”
[__05__] omit
section 05.
[__06__] Whether you or I were a grown-up or a child,
we could feel – at times – rejected or pushed aside.
This
is painful. But, in pain, there can be gain. At certain times, we can even take
advantage of these encounters through the practice of humility and of
simplicity.
We
can recognize, with humility and objectivity, that one rejection or failure does not mean we
have failed in everything or been rejected by everyone.
That
is, we can recognize that God Himself loves us, that we are always a part of his family.
It
is true that not everyone is going to like us or return our affection.
This
was true even for Jesus as the Messiah, the Savior of the World.
Some
rejected him even before he could speak.
[__07__] Meanwhile, seeing him as a simple child, we
have come to adore him. The shepherds in
their humility, the three kings in their humility, paid him the same respect.
Jesus
was protected and guarded and nurtured by this adoration. He was protected from
danger.
Through
the example of Joseph and Mary, through their courage, prayerfulness, through
their alertness when they are awake, and through their dreams when they are
unconscious, we learn to adore him, we learn that “Whoever therefore shall humble
himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven.” (Matthew 18:4)
[*** P A U S E ***]
[__08__] The Gospel is a call to simplicity, a call to
spiritual childhood and to the welcome of Christ as a child.
This
connection with Jesus as a child and our
own identity as child of God helps us to share the Good News.
It
also helps us to proclaim the Year of
Mercy of which Pope Francis speaks.
[__09__] In this Year of Mercy (2015 – 2016), Pope
Francis reminds us that we can ease the pain and difficulty that come from
sinfulness. We can do this in 2
principal ways.
[__10__] First, we are called to acknowledge our
faults through an examination of conscience, to an examination of our actions
and what caused them.
A
child – is he not … is she not – often more ready to acknowledge a wrong, a
fault, a sin, more readily than some adults, some grown-ups?
¨
For
to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.¨ (Matthew 19:14)
So,
we are invited to confession, to the sacrament of penance and reconciliation, to confess our sins, to
receive God’s mercy, to receive absolution.
[__11__] Each time, we receive his mercy, we grow in strength and freedom.
The
Holy Father, Pope Francis, has a second teaching for us about mercy. We are called both to receive and to share
God’s mercy.
We
are called to practice the corporal and
spiritual works of mercy which include – for example – feed the hungry, visit the sick, to forgive offenses willingly, to bear
wrongs patiently.
To
do this, humility and simplicity are fundamental.
Come
let us adore him. Our spiritual
childhood awaits.
[*** P A U S E ***]
[__12__] One early summer day, around Memorial Day
of 2006, I was reminded of
this call to childhood and this call to receive and share mercy.
I
had just spent several days with my family and my parents. And, as sometimes
happens, theoretically, in some families, there was some division. This was, shall we say, a long-division problem that I thought needed to be
solved. I was anxious about the health
of another family member. I was angry
and left the house suddenly.
After
I drove away, about 15 minutes later, I turned around and went back to the
house. I apologized, though I also realized
that my mother was not interested
in a long explanation. She was only interested that I had returned.
It
was, shall we say, a Prodigal Son
moment. I had repented of a wrong.
I
was also called to practice a spiritual
work of mercy to be more patient.
Mercy
invites us into a relationship and also to find joy in the relationship. As St.
John of the Cross teaches, where there is no love, put love and you will draw
out love.
There
was some love in this moment not only to “put” but also to draw out.
I
remember feeling a bit awkward about … at this point… just leaving the house again…
I did have somewhere to go, I had a visit with 2 friends schedule for later the
same day. But, maybe there was
something we could enjoy together. I could put my journey on hold
At
that time of day, as I recall, there was no meal for my mom and I to have…no
errand to complete, no project to
collaborate on.
It
was truly fortuitous that this was June of
2006 and that the World Cup Soccer tournament was being played in Germany.
The games were in a time zone far, far away. Many games were being broadcast in
the late morning or at midday.
So
we sat down to watch Portugal play France…or someone. I’m not sure of the
competitors. My
mother had watched all of us, over the years, from the sidelines play soccer
(and other sports). It was something we shared as a family. In this, watching
the World Cup was a concrete way to return to childhood, to complete a reconciliation,
to acknowledge God’s presence, to give
thanks for our family bond and – at that
moment … to come and adore him. [__fin__]
No comments:
Post a Comment