20151001
HAPPINESS BELONGS TO THOSE WHO HAVE A CHILDLIKE
FAITH
Isaiah 66:10-14
Rejoice with Jerusalem, be glad for her, all you who love
her! Rejoice, rejoice with her, all you who mourned her!
So that you may be suckled and satisfied from her
consoling breast, so that you may drink deep with delight from her generous
nipple.
For Yahweh says this: Look, I am going to send peace flowing over
her like a river, and like a stream in spate the glory of the nations. You will be suckled, carried on her hip and fondled in her lap.
As a mother comforts a child, so I shall comfort you; you
will be comforted in Jerusalem.
At the sight your heart will rejoice, and your limbs regain vigour like the grass. To
his servants Yahweh will reveal his hand, but to his enemies his fury.
Psalms 130
From the depths I call to you, Yahweh:
Lord, hear my cry. Listen attentively to the sound of my
pleading!
If you kept a record of our sins, Lord, who could stand
their ground?
But with you is forgiveness, that you may be revered.
I rely, my whole being relies, Yahweh, on your promise.
My whole being hopes in the Lord, more than watchmen for
daybreak; more than watchmen for daybreak
and he will ransom Israel from all its sins.
Matthew 18:1-5
So he called a little child to him whom he set among
them.
Then he said, 'In truth I tell you, unless you change and become like little children
you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven.
And so, the one who makes himself as little as this
little child is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven.
'Anyone who welcomes one little child like
this in my name welcomes me.
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HAPPINESS BELONGS TO THOSE WHO HAVE A
CHILDLIKE FAITH
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SCRIPTURE READINGS: Isaiah 66:10-14;
Ps 130;
Matthew 18:1-5
The disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who is the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” This question of the disciples smacks of
worldly connotations of greatness. In asking this question, they were
ignorant of what they were asking. Greatness for the disciples was seen
in terms of power, honour, glory and being better than others. In
asking this question, they were seeking for the wrong things in the first
place. Such greatness cannot bring happiness. For this reason,
Jesus “called a little child to him and set the child in front of them.”
A child during the time of Jesus was considered to be
insignificant. So by bringing the child in front of Him, Jesus wanted to
underscore that greatness must not be seen in terms of being more important
than others.
So what do we mean by being the greatest in the Kingdom
of God? Greatest must be conceived in terms of the depth of love, joy and
peace. Greatness is a question of the extent of God’s reign in our
hearts. Are we ruled by love and joy or ruled by hatred and anxiety and
fear? To be great in the kingdom of God is to find true and lasting
happiness that the world cannot give, which is love, peace and joy. This
is what makes us truly happy and at rest.
Truly, the lack of peace and joy comes from deep insecurity
in us. We are all insecure people suffering from low self-esteem.
Today, the world is desperately in need of security in terms of relationships,
in self-acceptance and in material needs. We are seeking for attention
and for true friendship and companionship. We are concerned whether
people accept us and recognize us for who we are. We are always anxious
about tomorrow, our career, our health; about what to wear and eat,
etc. That is why we have no peace because anxiety and fear rob us
of our ability to live life freely and courageously. We end up fighting
with others for attention, power, wealth and glory. We want to accumulate
more and more because we are never satisfied with what we have regardless of how much we
have.
So
where do we find peace and security? St Paul wrote, “In short, there are
three things that last: faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is
love.”(1Cor13:13)
Indeed, love is the foundation of peace and joy. All insecurities in life
spring from the lack of love. This is particularly true in
children. Of course, now that we are adults, many of us remain infantile
in our attitudes towards ourselves and others. Deprived of love from
young and affection, as adults now, we seek for attention and acceptance.
For
this reason, the Lord is inviting us to adopt the attitude of a child,
presupposing that this child has loving parents. He said, “I tell you
solemnly, unless you change and become like little children you will never
enter the kingdom of heaven.” In normal situations, parents love
their children, and would do all they can to protect, feed, nurture and help
them in whatever ways possible. They provide emotional security,
financial needs, take care of the children physically, spiritually, and
materially and provide them with sound and holistic formation. But
the fact remains that today; we have very few truly loving and caring
parents. Many of our parents are themselves broken, wounded and lack the
capacity to love freely.
As a
consequence instead of being childlike we are childish, even later on as
adults. Who is a childish person? A childish person is one who
likes to argue in order to win. He likes attention. He competes to
show off his talents. He is inward looking and selfish. He is
temperamental and always wants things his ways. He is an ingrate who only
knows how to receive but do not know how to give. He is prideful and
vindictive. A child is childish only because he lacks love and security.
So if
we do not want to be childish but childlike, what is needed? We need to
find security in the love of God. Only God’s love can help us to overcome
the deep insecurity within us and heal our wounded and dysfunctional childhood
experiences. We need to bask ourselves in the love of God. This was
what St Theresa of the Child Jesus did. We must be childlike before God our
heavenly Father who loves us and cares for us as His child. We are
children of God and God is our Father who provides us all our needs. With God
as our Father, we need not be afraid that we are not loved or we will not have
enough needs.
This
conviction of God as our loving Father is the basis of overcoming our
insecurity and fears in life. This is what the scripture readings of
today are asking of us. God told the exiled Israelites, “Rejoice
Jerusalem, Rejoice; rejoice for her, all you who mourned her! That you may be
suckled filled, from her consoling breast, that you may savour with delight her
glorious breast.” God is like our mother who wants to give us security
just as a child finds security suckling the breast of his mother. Indeed,
breast is always a symbol of security. From the breast, when we are young
we lay at the bosom of our mothers. From the breast, the mother feeds us
with her milk. So in such a graphic and beautiful manner, the Word of God
invites us to regard God as our heavenly Mother who gives us security in both
affection and in our material needs.
With
the love of God in our hearts, we find peace and security. This is what
the prophet says, “For thus says the Lord: Now towards her I send flowing
peace, like a river, and like a stream in spate the glory of the nations. At
her breast will her nurslings be carried and fondled in her lap.”
Indeed, to be carried by our mothers and be fondled in their laps, such great
joy, love, security and peace we find. Isn’t it true that when a child
cries, he is asking not just for milk but for security in affection, especially
when he wakes up and finds himself alone? The cry of a baby
is the cry of every man today, seeking for security, peace and fulfillment.
Love
builds trust. Again the prophet says, “Like a son comforted by his mother
will I comfort you.” The psalmist says this as well, “And like a child at rest
close to its mother’s breast, safe in your arms my soul is calmed.” If
there is a lack of trust between parents and children or between spouses, it is
because love is lacking. Trust is strengthened through love.
Trust builds relationship especially between parents and children; and between
spouses. Trust begets trust. So in order to win someone over, we need first to
begin by loving unconditionally. This is the way God loves us, without
conditions. The Lord invites us to trust in Him and He does this by
showing us His unconditional and total love for us.
A trust
that comes from love is the basis of hope of greater things to come. When
we trust, we begin to see greater things and have us a greater capacity to hope
for a fuller love. So long as there is love, trust will grow. As
trust grows, hope never dies. So long as there is love, we will never
lose hope in God or in those people who are in charge of us. If God loves me He
will do greater things for me. So too when we know that our parents or
friends care for us, we will never lose hope in ourselves or in the future,
even when we do not see things clearly because we know that we will never be
left alone in this long journey.
Consequently,
we are now called to live from His love. We are called to place our total
trust in Him. When we live from His love, we will find strength to
overcome all trials. With His love in us, we can learn to depend on Him
rather than on ourselves. To know that He loves us so much and so
unconditionally, we will be filled with humility and gratitude. Indeed
like the psalmist, we say, “O my Lord, within my heart pride will have no
home. Every talent that I have comes from you alone.”
Since
our joy and peace come from His love, the fruit of this love is to love others
in return with the same love we have received. Having experienced this
love, we too want to share that love. This is precisely the love of God
and it is this same love we are called to impart.
Love of
God and of others is our response to His love. This talk of love is not
mere words but in actions, ordinary deeds. God does not demand of us to
do extraordinary things, otherwise we will become proud of ourselves. He
wants us, as St Theresa tells us, to do small things with extraordinary love.
It is not what we do that pleases God but how much love we put into our
hearts. This is what the psalmist prays, “Lord, my eyes do not look high
nor my thoughts take wings for I can find treasures in ordinary things. Great
affairs are not for me, deeds beyond my scope. In the simple things I do, I
find joy and hope.”
Indeed,
a childlike faith is one that lives in faith, hope and love. When we live
a life of total trust and resting in His love, such a life is always lived in
contentment and joy. We are not searching for anything more. To have the
love of God is to have everything because we know He will provide and He is our
security, the one in whom I can place my trust and hope absolutely. Only
those who lack love and security, ask for things to fulfill the vacuum in their
hearts. A child who is raised in an ambience of love and acceptance, will
in turn be a holistic person, able to love himself and accept others. So
the greatest indeed in the kingdom of God is a childlike person who is living a
heavenly life on earth in peace, love and joy. He is living in the
Kingdom of love because the love of God rests in Him.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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