Tuesday 13 August 2024

Today is Tuesday the 13th August in the 19th week of Ordinary Time. O Lord, my heart is not proud. As I enter into prayer now, can I put aside for a moment my pride, any sense of self-importance I may have, and place myself humbly into the hands of my God, God who knows all my faults and failings and loves me still? O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor haughty my eyes. I have not gone after things too great, nor marvels beyond me. Truly I have set my soul in silence and peace; at rest, as a child in its mother’s arms, so is my soul. Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. ‘Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost. More than once in this passage, Jesus talks about the “little ones”; the “little ones” for whom God has a special care and concern. Who are the “little ones” in the world that you live in – in your country, in your town? Who are the people with no power or strength of their own to rely on? Jesus makes what seems a very strange and blunt demand here. “Unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” What does he mean? What are the childlike qualities Jesus wants us to have? As you hear the reading again, notice what it is about children and ‘little ones’ that Jesus says makes them special in the eyes of God. Perhaps you see yourself as one of these little ones, one of the lost sheep. Or maybe this passage has said something to you about people you encounter who are lost or vulnerable, or even about your own children. Whatever feelings this passage has stirred in you, bring them before the Lord now. Speak to him about what is in your heart. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.