Were there toddler parents among the disciples in today’s reading? Any parent dealing with the behavior of a toddler is right to question Jesus’s words, “unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Who in their right mind would want an eternity of screaming crazies running around?
I picked up my two-year-old son as he screamed from his bed one night. I don’t know what stirred him, but he was utterly distraught. That’s when it hit me – this is what Jesus means when He says we must “turn and become like children.” My son screamed and knew that my husband or I would rescue him. He instinctively knew that he was not alone and could count on us to pick him up and hold him. I gave him a big hug and asked him if he was scared. He told me he was, and I whispered in his ear, “You are safe.” I laid him back down, covered him with his blankets, and he was off to sleep.
Jesus doesn’t only tell us to become like children, but to turn and become children. Turn from what exactly? Ourselves. Children know that they depend totally on their parents (even as they begin to rebel from it), and this central truth is the key to entering the kingdom. As we age, we tend to accept the lies of self-reliance. We forget that we are completely dependent upon the gratuitousness of the Father. Jesus is calling us out from ourselves toward full dependence on the Father, the Giver of all good things. The childlike nature Jesus wants from us is to instinctively know that God is safe and that we are wholeheartedly known and loved by Him.
This is our lifelong work. We say our prayers, have devotions, and, of course, live a sacramental life as a means to an end, since they are not the goal in and of themselves. An authentic life of prayer is one where our devotions lead us to a place of surrender to God, where we allow Him to be our God, who is the fulfillment of our deepest longing to be loved.
Our childlike disposition is a reflection of God’s fatherly nature. When we allow Him to be the God of our lives, we allow Him to pick us up, remind us that we are safe in His arms, and tucked away in His expansive fatherly heart.
¿Había padres de niños pequeños entre los discípulos en la lectura de hoy? Cualquier padre que batalla con el comportamiento de un niño pequeño tiene razón para cuestionar las palabras de Jesús: “si no cambian y no se hacen como los niños, no entrarán en el Reino de los cielos”. ¿Quién en su sano juicio querría una eternidad de locos gritando y corriendo por todos lados?
Una noche, levanté a mi hijo de dos años para cargarlo como había estado gritando desde la cama. No sé qué lo alteró, pero estaba completamente consternado. En ese momento lo comprendí: esto es lo que Jesús quiere decir cuando dice que debemos cambiar y hacernos “como los niños”. Mi hijo gritó y supo que mi esposo o yo lo rescataríamos. Instintivamente supo que no estaba solo y que podía contar con nosotros para cargarlo abrazarlo. Le di un fuerte abrazo y le pregunté si tenía miedo. Me dijo que sí, y le susurré al oído: “Estás seguro”. Lo volví a acostar, lo cubrí con sus cobijas y se quedó dormido nuevamente.
Jesús no solo nos dice que nos hagamos como niños, sino que cambiamos y nos convirtamos en niños. ¿Cambiarnos de qué forma, exactamente? De depender de nosotros mismos. Los niños saben que dependen totalmente de sus padres (incluso cuando empiezan a rebelarse), y esta verdad fundamental es la clave para entrar en el reino. A medida que nos vamos envejeciendo, tendemos a aceptar las mentiras de la autosuficiencia. Nos olvidamos que dependemos completamente de la generosidad del Padre. Jesús nos llama a salir de nosotros mismos hacia una dependencia plena del Padre, el Dador de todo lo bueno. La naturaleza infantil que Jesús espera de nosotros es que sepamos instintivamente que Dios es seguro y que Él nos conoce y nos ama de todo corazón.
Esta es nuestra labor de toda la vida. Rezamos, tenemos devociones y, por supuesto, vivimos una vida sacramental como un medio para un fin, ya que no son el fin en sí mismos. Una auténtica vida de oración es cuando nuestras devociones nos llevan a un lugar de entrega a Dios, donde le permitimos ser nuestro Dios, quien es la realización de nuestro anhelo más profundo de ser amados.
Nuestra disposición infantil es un reflejo de la naturaleza paternal de Dios. Cuando le permitimos ser el Dios de nuestras vidas, le permitimos que nos levante, que nos recuerde que estamos seguros en sus brazos y acogidos en su enorme corazón paternal.
Former NPS Park Ranger, Catholic educator, and Youth Minister, Melissa Lucca now spends her days evangelizing family and neighbors as a stay-at-home mom. She holds an MA in Theology from the Augustine Institute and pursues personal study in her spare time. Melissa loves Ignatian Spirituality, Mother Mary, and rock climbing. If you don’t hear her and her kiddo laughing at home, then they are probably out on an adventure!
Feature Image Credit: Rachel McDermott, unsplash.com/photos/grayscale-photography-of-man-carrying-a-baby-fF8sGfl5zgg
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