The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today contrast the arrogant with those who approach life with childlike humility.
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| The childlike attitude |
The reading from the Prophet Isaiah declares that Arrogant Assyria is also judged by God.
* [10:5–34] These verses contain a series of oracles directed against Assyria. Verses 5–15 portray Assyria as simply the rod God uses to punish Israel, though Assyria does not realize this. The original conclusion to this unit may be the judgment found in vv. 24–27a, which continues the imagery and motifs found in vv. 5–15. Verses 16–23, because of the quite different imagery and motifs, may originally have been an insertion directed against Aram and Israel at the time of the Syro-Ephraimite War.1
Psalm 94 praises God as the avenger of the righteous.
* [Psalm 94] A lament of an individual who is threatened by wicked people. The danger affects the whole community. Calling upon God as judge (Ps 94:1–2), the Psalm complains about oppression of the holy community by people within (Ps 94:3–7). Bold declarations of faith follow: denunciation of evildoers (Ps 94:8–11) and assurance to the just (Ps 94:12–15). The Psalm continues with further lament (Ps 94:16–19) and ends with strong confidence in God’s response (Ps 94:20–23).2
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus thanks His Father for revelation to the childlike.
* [11:25–27] This Q saying, identical with Lk 10:21–22 except for minor variations, introduces a joyous note into this section, so dominated by the theme of unbelief. While the wise and the learned, the scribes and Pharisees, have rejected Jesus’ preaching and the significance of his mighty deeds, the childlike have accepted them. Acceptance depends upon the Father’s revelation, but this is granted to those who are open to receive it and refused to the arrogant. Jesus can speak of all mysteries because he is the Son and there is perfect reciprocity of knowledge between him and the Father; what has been handed over to him is revealed only to those whom he wishes.3
Jeanne Schuler comments that in a dialogue, Yahweh puts the empire in its place. “You are my tool. I am the power that swings the rod. You are the wood of the weapon. My people will endure the blows of your military might. But you will not crush them.” It is lawless empires and arrogant rulers that disappear from history.
The world is under siege. The death toll mounts. “Where are you, Yahweh? Is this punishment for our wayward lives? Is this harsh medicine to heal our crooked souls? Are pandemic victims just wood in the rod you swing? Have you resolved to test us, like Job?” The wise and learned ponder the problem of evil. Their best efforts arrive at this conclusion: God does not abandon us.
An uprising overlays the pandemic. The prudent and vulnerable hang back. On our screens we see young people pour into the streets. Like the wise they ask “why?” Then, with urgency, they act. We arrive at this time of reckoning through the persistence of the children.4
Don Schwager quotes “Revealed to babes,” by Epiphanius the Latin (late 5th century).
"And he revealed these things to children. To which children? Not those who are children in age but to those who are children in respect to sin and wickedness. To them Jesus revealed how to seek the blessings of paradise and the things to come in the kingdom of heaven, because thus it was well pleasing before God that 'they should come from the east and the west and that they should lie down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but that the sons of this worldly kingdom should be cast into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:11-12).'" (excerpt from INTERPRETATION OF THE GOSPELS 26)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 11:25-27 notes a child’s relationship with their parents is a precious thing. A child’s boundless trust leads them to turn instantly to Mom or Dad. This is precisely the image Jesus uses in his prayer to his Father in today’s Gospel. There was something about the people who accepted Jesus, something that made them open to receiving the word of God. Jesus calls these people “the childlike”.
If God reveals himself to the childlike, then how can we become like children in relation to God? It’s easy to think that in order to know God, we had better begin a long course of study and a rigorous program of virtue building. We might also think, “Gosh, look how far behind I already am!”
But that’s not being like a child. We can learn from a one-year-old here: I need, I want, I hurt. We begin with, “Help me, God!” And think of how Jesus taught us to pray: Our Father.
This kind of innocent trust, turning to God in our pain as well as our joys, reaching up our hands and trusting that he will pick us up—that is childlike. That is the attitude we are all invited to adopt.6
Friar Jude Winkler explains that the arrogance of Assyria brought them to a vicious campaign where they thought of themselves as gods. Our mission and talents are from God. Friar Jude underlines our call to surrender to the Mystery of what we cannot fully understand.
A post by Franciscan Media on Saint Bonaventure, Saint of the Day for July 15, explains his teaching career came to a halt when the Friars elected him to serve as their General Minister.
His 17 years of service were not easy as the Order was embroiled in conflicts over the interpretation of poverty... because he was a man of prayer and a good administrator, Saint Bonaventure managed to structure the Order through effective legislation. But more importantly, he offered the Friars an organized spirituality based on the vision and insights of Saint Francis. Always a Franciscan at heart and a mystical writer, Bonaventure managed to unite the pastoral, practical aspects of life with the doctrines of the Church. Thus, there is a noticeable warmth to his teachings and writings that make him very appealing.7
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that Jesuit priest Pedro Arrupe (1907–1991) was a deeply spiritual man who was entirely committed to serving others, particularly the poor in whom he saw Christ. Authors Kerry Walters and Robin Jarrell describe some of the pivotal events of his life.
Described by one of his friends as “a second Ignatius” who “refounded” the Jesuit Order “in the light of Vatican II,” Arrupe focused the Jesuits during his term as Father General on both renewed spirituality—as a result of his years in Japan, Arrupe himself practiced Zen meditation daily—and social justice advocacy. Along with other proponents of liberation theology, he identified the suffering endured by the victims of war and poverty with Christ’s Passion and taught that alleviating the one through justice was honoring the other in faith.8
Using the gifts from God in humble service is a way to avoid arrogant attitudes and behaviour.
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