Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Childlike

Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,
“I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned 
you have revealed them to the childlike. Luke 10

Jesus' words in this morning's Gospel remind us of his words in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” These are the "childlike" who know their need for God and look to God for everything. These were the ones who followed Jesus around, and hung on his every word. They have experienced that life isn’t fair. They have nothing; and they are nothing; but Jesus gives them hope. He calls them blessed, not because he’s trying to put them down, but because they are not self-sufficient, but desperately know their need for God. 

Jesus turns to them, to us, and says, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you.” There is room in his mercy-filled heart for everyone, no one is excluded. But there’s a catch, we need to be aware of the truly good news of our insufficiency, our incompleteness, our sinfulness, our poverty, which make us available to receive all that Jesus has to offer us- which is everything, his entire self. In the end God does not want our virtue, he wants our weakness, our need which make us totally available to the mercy he wants to be for us.