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SIMPLICITY THAT OPENS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

(A biblical refection on THE 25^th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – 23 September, 2012)

Gospel Reading: Mark 9:30-37

First Reading: Wis 2:12,17-20; Psalms: Ps 54:3-6,8; Second Reading: Jas 3:16-4:3

The Scripture Text

They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And He would not have any one know it; for He was teaching His disciples, saying to them. “The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He is killed, after three days He will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask Him.

And they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house He asked them,
What were you discussing on the way?” But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest. And He sat down and called the twelve; and He said to them, “If any one would be first, He must be last of all and servant of all.” And He took a child, and put Him in the midst of them; and taking him in His arms, He said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent me.” (Mk 9:30-37)

“God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life” (Ps 54:4).

Wouldn’t it be liberating to have the freedom and trust of a child? Deep in our hearts, we long to be free, but as responsible adults we all feel the drive to meet the world’s expectations. Isn’t it interesting how many responsibilities Jesus had, yet He never appeared rushed or stressed out? He accomplished a lifetime of work in three years because of His radical trust in His Father.

As Jesus and His disciples passed through Galilee, He could have stopped many times along the way to preach or perform miracles. But He knew that His Father wanted Him to take this time to teach the twelve more fully about His passion and resurrection. Thus, with childlike trust, Jesus reflected a singleness of purpose and stayed faithful to His Father’s calling.

At the heart of this kind of simplicity is singleness of purpose. As we learn to live for Jesus, hidden agendas and the desire for self-gain will gradually fall away. We will come to see that loving others as Jesus has loved us and following Jesus in everything we do are our only goals. God does not expect us to pay attention to or address everything that crosses our paths in this lifetime. He wants us to turn to Him in trust and let Him show us what He has called us to accomplish – and He wants to us to trust that He will give us all we need to see our calling through to completion.

Let us go to Jesus and ask Him to give us the simplicity that opens the Kingdom of Heaven. The simple are free from guile. They are innocent at heart because they only want to follow the Father’s will for their lives. Let us ask Jesus for the kind of integrity, strength of character, and singleness of purpose that He had. As we do, our hearts will become lighter, and the Spirit will work powerfully through us.

Short Prayer: Lord Jesus, grant me the heart of a child who lives in utter trust of Your provisions. Open my eyes to the beauty of living in Your Kingdom. Amen.

A Christian Pilgrim

A GOOD QUESTION

(A biblical refection on THE 25^th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – 23 September, 2012)

First Reading: Wis 2:12,17-20; Psalms: Ps 54:3-6,8; Second Reading: Jas 3:16-4:3

Gospel Reading: Mk 9:30-37

A good question is worth more than a hundred answers. Good questions are often in short supply in an age which lusts after certainty. We demand certain trumpets from the pulpit to the White House to Wall Street. Hesitation or the offering of a complex answer is viewed as weakness and lack of conviction. We want our leaders to always be sure – even if they are seldom right! We demand guarantees instead of hope. H.L. Mencken once said that every complex question has a simple answer and it is always simply wrong. Life is complex. We need thoughtful reflection and humble prayer to be prudent in our dealings with others. Good questions challenge us to think, pray and be prudent. Good questions force us to examine those areas of our lives we would rather leave in darkness.

Our second reading from James offers a good question for our consideration: “Where do the conflicts and disputes among you originate?” At first we respond: out there! It is society, our environment, the Zodiac or the difficult neighbor that accounts for all my problems and vices. If only I could remove the external, the internal would be fine. You see, at base I am really a swell person. It is circumstances or others which help to explain the way I am. Nice try! But James offers a different approach.

“Is it not your inner cravings that make war within your members? What you desire you do not obtain, and so you resort to murder.” Our troubles lie in the human heart. Because of sin we want to assert our will, wield power over and dominate everything and everyone for our selfish ends. Within our hearts we experience envy, rage and murderous intent. Our general hardness of heart destroys communities and families. The other is no longer a friend but an enemy; the other is not a gift but a threat; the other becomes hell from whom there is no exit (Sartre).

How are we to grow spiritually mature? Christ’s answer is most unexpected: “Whoever welcomes a child such as this for My sake welcomes Me.” The spiritually mature person must become childlike (not childish or immature). This is not easy. We try to fill ourselves up with an abundance of things, relationships and honors. Yet none give lasting peace. It is only when we open our hearts in childlike faith that God can fill us with what we truly need. If we try to find wholeness in the world, we are doomed to failure. The more we have, the more we want. The distractions are outside, but the cravings come from within. In our search for lasting peace, we look in the wrong places. Again the letter of James: “You ask and you to not receive because you ask wrongly, with a view to a squandering what you receive on your pleasures.”

Childlike conversion of heart often evokes the anger of those around us. We become a sign of contradiction. We challenge people to change and live in a new way. At first, other people are amused. Then they ignore us. When that no longer works, they turn against us. The book of Wisdom puts it in the following way: “[The wicked say:] ‘Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings …… With revilement and torture let us put him to the test …… Let us condemn him to a shameful death ……’”

To turn from our inner cravings and become childlike in our faith is to be on the road to spiritual maturity. However, we must not be surprised at the opposition of others. We are a challenge. We become a question to others. And questions are not always welcomed.

Note: Taken from Rev. William F. Maestri, GRACE UPON GRACE, Makati, Philippines: St. Paul Publications, 1990, pages 199-201.