LK 10:21-24
At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Becoming Like Children
The British spiritual author, Caryll Houselander, wrote in one of her devotionals, “The Author of Life has built the doorway to eternity so low that only a small child could pass through, else, the rest of us will go in on bended knee.” That quote has become one of my favorites about humility. Prophets or kings might miss the message. It takes one simple enough to listen to hear God’s directions toward the door. If one is busy spouting off proclamations or prophecies, how could that one hear the gentle guidance of God? How could one who expects such a grandiose entrance see that the passage is closest to those they expect to be considered the least impressive? It is a nice image, the childlike crossing the threshold upright and on two feet. But the proud, if they wish to pass, will fit through by crawling. They will become children again.
—Adam Bohan, SJ, is a scholastic of the Midwest Province working as a registered nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Loyola University Medical Center.
Prayer
Oh Jesus, meek and humble of heart, help me. From the desire to be esteemed, extolled, honored, praised, preferred, consulted, and approved, deliver me, Jesus. Deliver me from the distractions and fears that would keep me from hearing and seeing You. Help me, that when invited to cross the eternal threshold, I may do so with childlike candor and ease.
—Adam Bohan, SJ