Choice and childlike

The concept of free will is a challenge sometimes for believers. The words of the psalmist in the texts from the Roman CatholicLectionary today declare that God is his portion and his cup. He chooses God. Fruits of that choice are described as goodness, counsel, strength, security, and pleasure in a full life. The Gospel from Matthew tells of the reaction of Jesus and his disciples to the choice made by parents to bring their children to Jesus for a blessing. Choices, in this episode, are made by the parents, the disciples and Jesus. When our immaturity is evident we need to accept the choices of others for our good. A lack of knowledge of safe work practice means we cannot choose for ourselves how to dress and perform activities safely. Immaturity in spiritual development sometimes causes us to seek and expect fruits of a relationship with God which differ from those praised by the psalmist. Our need for counsel from those more experienced, our fathers and mothers in faith, and from Jesus, puts us in a childlike condition. This condition of humility, simplicity, openness and obedience will align us to experience the blessings in the psalm. Friar Jude Winkler comments on the mixture of belief and experience of God in the people who are addressed by Joshua in the passage from the Book which bears his name. The choice is placed strongly before them. They are expected to choose the God of Israel over all the other gods which they have been tempted to follow in their journey to date. They are about to enter a new land which is comparable to our beginning a new day. We will be offered choice today. It will involve how we set our direction toward God and holiness or away. We are childlike to be best disposed to hear God and adult in our resolve to live what we hear.