The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to ponder the Presence of God that we experience in our love of children.
In the Book of Job, he replies: There Is No Mediator
* [9:3] Job begins to explore the possibility of challenging God in a lawsuit, a theme that will recur (10:2), but he knows the odds are against him (vv. 12–20).
* [9:13] Rahab: another name for the primeval sea-monster; see notes on 3:8 and Ps 89:11; cf. Jb 7:12; 26:12.
In the reading from the Book of Exodus the Conquest of Canaan Promised.
* [23:21] My authority is within him: lit., “My name is within him.”
Psalm 88 is a prayer for Help in Despondency
* [Psalm 88] A lament in which the psalmist prays for rescue from the alienation of approaching death. Each of the three stanzas begins with a call to God (Ps 88:2, 10, 14) and complains of the death that separates one from God. The tone is persistently grim.
* [88:11–13] The psalmist seeks to persuade God to act out of concern for divine honor: the shades give you no worship, so keep me alive to offer you praise.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus addresses True Greatness.
* [18:1] The initiative is taken not by Jesus as in the Marcan parallel (Mk 9:33–34) but by the disciples. Kingdom of heaven: this may mean the kingdom in its fullness, i.e., after the parousia and the final judgment. But what follows about causes of sin, church discipline, and forgiveness, all dealing with the present age, suggests that the question has to do with rank also in the church, where the kingdom is manifested here and now, although only partially and by anticipation; see notes on Mt 3:2; 4:17.
* [18:3] Become like children: the child is held up as a model for the disciples not because of any supposed innocence of children but because of their complete dependence on, and trust in, their parents. So must the disciples be, in respect to God.
Susanne Braddock comments that children used to be regarded as chattel, tools to be used, small versions of adults without unique needs and gifts. As human consciousness evolved, we grew to see children as they are - simple, humble, with special complexities and needs. Jesus showed his disciples a child as a model of the greatest in the kingdom of heaven when they argued who would be greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
I try to place myself back there when I was a child, trusting simply in the goodness of God, knowing there is a special angel there to bring me all of God’s love and care. A being I can communicate with, ask favors of - as when I asked my angel to nudge the angel of another to delay evening Mass for five minutes so I wouldn’t be late…..and it happened! When I told the celebrant what I had asked and the amazing result - he was never late celebrating Mass - he said that was the best thing that had happened to him in quite a while. To know the joy of God’s love manifest in our guardian angel. So I invite you to remember your guardian angel with thanks and awe that there is a conduit to the face of God.
Don Schwager quotes “Their angels behold the face of my Father in heaven,” by Chromatius (died 406 AD).
"It is not right to despise anyone who believes in Christ. A believer is called not only a servant of God but also a son though the grace of adoption, to whom the kingdom of heaven and the company of the angels is promised. And rightly the Lord adds, 'For I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.' How much grace the Lord has toward each one believing in him he himself declares when he shows their angels always beholding the face of the Father who is in heaven. Great is the grace of the angels toward all who believe in Christ. Finally, the angels carry their prayers to heaven. Hence the word of Raphael to Tobias: 'When you prayed along with your daughter-in-law Sara, I offered the memory of your prayer in the sight of God (Deutero-canonical book of Tobit 12:12). Around them there is also the strong guard of the angels; they help each of us to be free from the traps of the enemy. For a human in his weakness could not be safe amid so many forceful attacks of that enemy if he were not strengthened by the help of the angels." (excerpt from TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 57.1) [Note: Chromatius was an early Christian scholar and bishop of Aquileia, Italy. He was a close friend of John Chrysostom and Jerome. He died in 406 AD. Jerome described him as a "most learned and most holy man."]
The Word Among Us Meditation on Job 9:1-12, 14-16 asks how many times, in the midst of our own suffering, have we asked God this same question: What are you doing, Lord? Of course, it’s not wrong to ask, but Job is right that we shouldn’t approach God in an accusatory way, as if he owes us an explanation. Instead, we can trust that he will somehow bring good out of our trials and use them to help us grow close to him. So rather than asking why, we can ask how: How should I respond to this situation? How are you working in me in this hard time?
It will take until the closing chapters of the Book of Job for this righteous man to express himself fully to God and for God to finally answer him. This will lead Job to a much more profound faith. We don’t know how our own situations will be resolved, but we do know that God can use everything we experience to help us grow in our faith. So don’t be afraid to ask him how he is forming you through your suffering. But then wait prayerfully, with Job-like patience, for his answer.
“Lord Jesus, give me the grace this day to respond to my suffering in a way that leads me closer to you.”
Friar Jude Winkler reflects on the texts for today.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, reflects on how he understands the Franciscan vow of poverty through Francis’ commitment to live the gospel.
We recall the comfort of our childhood understanding of our guardian angel and express gratitude today for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our daily walk.
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