Watching the same trick, how different will the look be in the eyes of adults? Perhaps, some will have that same excitement and wonder; the amazement of "how did he do it"? Yet many more of us will pull ourselves back and our eyes suggest skepticism and suspicions. If we, like those children, ask to watch the trick again, our purpose might probably be to spot the loophole in which we can solve the mystery of the trick. Children are different in that when they want to watch the trick again, it is simply because they were amazed beyond their understanding, thrilled by the incomprehensible and desire to once again be captured in that "mystical" moment of "magic".
In the Acts of the Apostles Chapter 2, during the Pentecost, tongues of fire appeared and rested on the heads of each Apostle, who then, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke of the marvels of God in foreign languages. We are told in verses 12-13...
Everyone was amazed and unable to explain it; they asked one another what it all meant. Some, however, laughed it off. 'They have been drinking too much new wine' they said.
And Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:3-4
Then he said, 'I tell you solemnly, 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.'
Is Jesus asking us to be like Benjamin Button to age backwards and become a child? Is this possible? No. Rather, He wants us to have the qualities of children - completely dependent and trusting, unassuming and obedient, simplistic and blameless, quick to forgive, slow to anger. Children are unguarded; they allow themselves to be fully absorbed in situations such as play, in which they completely forget about the world and even themselves. How often do we question how children seem to have unlimited energies to play non-stop, even till the point that they do not even need to eat their dinners!! And adults seem to somehow appear listless, bogged down by a perpetual fatigue and display a face that only see some life on Friday afternoons just to go dim again on Sunday nights. Children do not have the distortions of life, distractions and self-protection that adults are more often than not plagued by. These distortions, distractions and self-protection stand in the way of our values, priorities and perceptions of life and God. Needless to say, they directly pose as a hindrance in our relationship with God. Those who witnessed to the Pentecostal empowerment in the Apostles, heard with their own two ears the miracle unfolding before their very eyes, and yet laughed it off in disbelief, are as good as deaf and blind. They saw and heard but they did not perceive nor listen because their hearts were totally shut. They were unwilling to open their hearts to accept the Truth and marvel at the wonders of God like how children would - with trust and simplicity. They never would have experienced the hope, peace and joy that God fills children with only because their hearts are so opened and free to accept goodness.
Week after week, we go to church, hear the word of God in the Gospel readings and the homilies. At times, we hear of inspirational stories of a life being transformed by God's healing grace, a miracle that took place, a life protected in that split second to disaster. What is our reaction and response to all these? Perhaps we do not go to the extreme of "laughing it off" but do we truly allow all these to take root in our hearts and value them as God's affirmation and repeated reassurance that He is very real and very present in our lives and all around us? He is calling out to us to love Him more deeply, trust in Him more completely and walk in His ways more faithfully. If all the homilies and God-experiences shared by others do not make us believe more fully in the God who provides for us in our every need and get us up on our feet to take more initiative and ownership in our faith and relationship with God, then we are just as deaf and blind as those who did not believe in the miracle at Pentecost because we would have allowed God's word and work pass us by continuously, unnoticed, unappreciated, unvalued.
When was the last time we allowed ourselves to drop that self-image, pride and suspicions and become selfless, non-pretentious, authentic, gracious and trusting? When was the last time we allowed ourselves to be vulnerable, knowing that we will be subjected to hurts and disappointments, but depending always on the faith that God's Will for us is in the present situation, the "here & now", in which He blesses us with the joys to lift us up and the pains to make us grow stronger? As the weekend begins and we will again head to church for Holy Mass to listen again to the word of God and partake in His Eucharistic Sacrifice, what will our attitudes towards the Mass and God be this time? Are we going to be an audience or will we decide to participate with greater attention, reverence and devotion? How much of a child do we dare to be? How much discomfort do we dare challenge ourselves with in order to be child-like in our relationships with God and others?
15 January 2011, Saturday
12.19am
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