Children and Covenant

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to awareness and action to maintain our Covenant that calls us to be attentive to the needs for peace and promise for the least in our society.

Care for Children

The reading from the Book of Sirach praises the Creation of Human Beings.

a. [17:1] Gn 2:7; 3:19.

b. [17:2–4] Gn 1:26–28; Ps 8:4–9. (Sirach, CHAPTER 17 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 103 is a Thanksgiving for God’s Goodness.

* [Psalm 103] The speaker in this hymn begins by praising God for personal benefits (Ps 103:1–5), then moves on to God’s mercy toward all the people (Ps 103:6–18). Even sin cannot destroy that mercy (Ps 103:11–13), for the eternal God is well aware of the people’s human fragility (Ps 103:14–18). The psalmist invites the heavenly beings to join in praise (Ps 103:19–22). (Psalms, PSALM 103 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus Blesses Little Children.

* [10:15] Whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child: i.e., in total dependence upon and obedience to the gospel; cf. Mt 18:3–4. (Mark, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB, n.d.)

Rashmi Fernando comments that Jesus teaches that embracing vulnerability is the key to the Kingdom. To accept the Kingdom of God like a child means to approach our faith with trust, humility, and openness—recognizing our dependence on God and allowing His love to shape our lives. Today, let us ask ourselves:

Who are the "children" in our midst who need our support?

How often do we, knowingly or unknowingly, push away the vulnerable in our communities, dismiss their struggles, silence their voices, or fail to offer the support they need?

How can we be instruments of God's mercy, ensuring that no one is led into sin or despair by neglect or indifference, but let toward hope and belonging in the Kingdom of God? (Fernando, 2025)

Don Schwager quotes “When the reception of grace begins,” by Basil the Great, 329-379 A.D.

"The apostle praised one [Timothy] who had known the holy Scripture from infancy (2 Timothy 3:15). He also instructed that children be reared 'in the discipline and correction of the Lord' (Ephesians 6:4). So we consider every time of life, even the very earliest, suitable for receiving persons into the community of faith."(excerpt from THE LONG RULES 15) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Sirach 17:1-15 comments that we belong to heaven—that it is our birthright, an inheritance that our Father longs to see us take hold of.

Today, take some time to reflect on your identity as a child of God. Let him show you how you already reflect his holiness, his beauty, and his glory. Ask him how certain aspects of your personality resemble his character. Let these insights fill you with joy and confidence. You are not just an “ordinary person.” You are a child of God. You have a marvelous destiny. You belong to eternity!

“Father, help me to see our resemblance. Show me who I really am in your eyes.” (Meditation on Sirach 17:1-15, 2025)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on some of the wisdom in the passage from Sirach that presents a proper order of society and the Covenant to avoid evil and serve God. Chapters 8-10 of Mark’s Gospel contain inappropriate responses of the disciples to the actions and words of Jesus. Friar Jude notes the focus of Jesus on the anawim and presents an interpretation of the text that suggests chasing away the children may have been saying they were not good enough to survive.

James Finley offers a practice to help us understand Meister Eckhart’s teaching that we are the image of God. This is a paraphrase of Eckhart: Imagine you’re standing before a full-length mirror, and imagine the image of you is conscious, that it can think.

Eckhart says, “The image owes no allegiances to anything except that of which it is the image.”… There is nothing that has the authority to say what it is except that of which it is the image. And so it is with us, Eckhart says, that we are the image of God. Without God, we are nothing, absolutely nothing. In being the image of God, we owe no allegiances to anything but the Infinite Love in whose image we are made. And the idolatry of diversions of the heart where we wander off into cul-de-sacs with the imagined authority of anything less or other than Infinite Love to name who we are? This is the problem. (Finley, n.d.)

We ponder how the blessing of our relationship with children is a window into the nature of our need to seek transformation by the Spirit to be agents of love and support for the anawim of today.

References

Fernando, R. (2025, March 1). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved March 1, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/030125.html 

Finley, J. (n.d.). Rhineland Mystics: Weekly Summary. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved March 1, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/rhineland-mystics-weekly-summary/ 

Mark, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 1, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/10?13 

Meditation on Sirach 17:1-15. (2025, March 1). The Word Among Us. Retrieved March 1, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/03/01/1217045/ 

Psalms, PSALM 103 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 1, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/103?13 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Receive the Kingdom of God like a Child. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 1, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=mar1 

Sirach, CHAPTER 17 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 1, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/sirach/17?1 

Loving and Alert

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, the First Sunday of Advent, feature images of encounters with the action of God as Redeemer.

Anticipation and Action

 

The reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah images God providing the Righteous Branch through the Covenant with David.

* [33:14–26] This is the longest continuous passage in the Hebrew text of Jeremiah that is missing from the Greek text of Jeremiah. It is probably the work of a postexilic writer who applied parts of Jeremiah’s prophecies to new situations. The hope for an eternal Davidic dynasty (vv. 14–17; cf. 2 Sm 7:11–16) and for a perpetual priesthood and sacrificial system (v. 18) was not realized after the exile. On the canonical authority of the Septuagint, see note on Dn 13:1–14:42.1 

Psalm 25 is a prayer for Guidance and for Deliverance.

* [Psalm 25] A lament. Each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Such acrostic Psalms are often a series of statements only loosely connected. The psalmist mixes ardent pleas (Ps 25:1–2, 16–22) with expressions of confidence in God who forgives and guides.2 

The reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians is an exhortation to a life pleasing to God.

* [4:2] Instructions: these include specific guidelines on the basis of the Lord’s authority, not necessarily sayings Jesus actually uttered. More profoundly, as 1 Thes 4:8 implies, the instructions are practical principles that Paul worked out in accordance with his understanding of the role of the Spirit.3 

In the Gospel of Luke, images of the coming of the Son of Man precede an exhortation to watch.

* [21:5–36] Jesus’ eschatological discourse in Luke is inspired by Mk 13 but Luke has made some significant alterations to the words of Jesus found there. Luke maintains, though in a modified form, the belief in the early expectation of the end of the age (see Lk 21:27, 28, 31, 32, 36), but, by focusing attention throughout the gospel on the importance of the day-to-day following of Jesus and by reinterpreting the meaning of some of the signs of the end from Mk 13 he has come to terms with what seemed to the early Christian community to be a delay of the parousia. Mark, for example, described the desecration of the Jerusalem temple by the Romans (Mk 13:14) as the apocalyptic symbol (see Dn 9:27; 12:11) accompanying the end of the age and the coming of the Son of Man. Luke (Lk 21:20–24), however, removes the apocalyptic setting and separates the historical destruction of Jerusalem from the signs of the coming of the Son of Man by a period that he refers to as “the times of the Gentiles” (Lk 21:24). See also notes on Mt 24:1–36 and Mk 13:1–37.4 

Eileen Burk-Sullivan shares that with the Season of Advent comes the opportunity to become part of Jesse’s sapling – to grow into the life of Jesus in this new year. Simply put, Jesus invites each one of us to fall in love, or more deeply in love, with him;  to find in him the completion of the greatest longings to be what we were called to be from our mother’s womb.

For each of us such a call challenges us to awaken out of the habits that have blinded us to his endearing love. I pray today that this new year will be a time when again I encounter Jesus face-to-face and desire above all things to be his companion in the Kingdom Work God asks of me.  If we pray for each other, we will find companions to keep us awake and to make the labor more fun.  This may well be the best hope and promise we have from Advent this year.5

 

Don Schwager quotes “The coming of the Son of Man,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).

"He says that they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Christ will not come secretly or obscurely but as God and Lord in glory suitable for deity. He will transform all things for the better. He will renew creation and refashion the nature of people to what it was at the beginning. He said, 'When these things come to pass, lift up your heads and look upward, for your redemption is near.' The dead will rise. This earthly and infirm body will put off corruption and will clothe itself with incorruption by Christ's gift. He grants those that believe in him to be conformed to the likeness of his glorious body."(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 139)6

 

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 21:25-28, 34-36 comments that Jesus’ warning about anxiety is one of the best pieces of advice we could receive right now. We have all heard the statistic that people are more likely to feel worried or depressed during the month of December than at any other time of the year. The “anxieties of daily life” seem amplified as the holidays approach, and all the emphasis on parties and family gatherings can make some people feel more stressed or isolated. It’s not surprising to find our hearts feeling a little “drowsy” as we begin the season of Advent (Luke 21:34)!

There is so much that your heavenly Father wants to give you during this time of grace: inner healing, a deeper sense of peace or joy, a powerful encounter with his mercy, and wisdom and guidance for your life. If you can spend just a few minutes each day with the Mass readings and meditations in this booklet, you’ll be opening your heart to these gifts and more. Don’t let Advent slip away. Your redemption is at hand. Stay awake so that you can receive it! “Jesus, help me to seek you this Advent!”7 

Friar Jude Winkler notes the change of tone in Chapter 33 of Jeremiah to restoration, a shalom, and away from punishment. Paul urges the Thessalonians to try more and more to improve their relationship with the Lord. Friar Jude reminds us that the figurative language of the Second Coming should encourage us to leave nothing unsaid or nothing undone in our own lives.

 

Sarah Broscombe, worker in the charity sector and a retreat guide, asks what kind of Advent are these readings inviting us to?

Jeremiah points us forward to a day of fulfilment, a day which is imminent. Because of one life, Judah will be safe, Jerusalem will dwell secure. I notice myself being drawn towards this safety and security; as a guide, I find myself yearning for a dwelling place for my retreatants where they feel that sense of safety. The days that Jeremiah foresees are replete with hope and promise. The exhortation here is, ‘Hope’; hope, because of the One who is coming. The days that Jesus sees coming, on the other hand, are full of dismay, fear and dread. Who is this terrifying Son of Man whose day ‘will assault everyone’, causing people to die of fright? But as we sit with the words, we see that they are not a threat, but that they, too, are an exhortation. Jesus’s description of the uncertainty and perplexity of what we see in the world around us rings painfully true. We know this terror. I think the terror is as familiar to many of us as the joy that it precedes. The exhortation here is, ‘Be ready’. That lovely state where we are not running to stand still, nor are we losing ourselves in the kind of distractions that make us befuddled, dull and stressed. As with Ignatius’s Meditation on the Two Standards, the point is not to work out which side we are on, to agonise about whether we are sheep or goats. Jesus is talking to his friends, to the ones who have chosen him. We are invited not for judgment, but for redemption. ‘Stand erect and raise your heads, because your redemption is at hand’.8 

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that the Advent season begins with Scriptures that focus on the “second coming” of Christ. At times, this has been presented as a frightening event, exacerbated by the negative images of God which many Christians hold. Father Richard writes “Your image of God creates you—or defeats you.” There is an absolute connection between how we see God and how we see ourselves and the universe.

After years of giving and receiving spiritual direction, it has become clear to me and to many of my colleagues that most people’s operative image of God is initially a subtle combination of their mom and dad, or other early authority figures. Without an interior journey of prayer or inner experience, much of religion is largely childhood conditioning, which God surely understands and uses. Yet atheists and many former Christians rightly react against this because such religion is so childish and often fear-based, and so they argue against a caricature of faith. I would not believe in that god myself! Our goal, of course, is to grow toward an adult religion that includes reason, faith, and inner experience we can trust. A mature God creates mature people. A big God creates big people. A punitive God creates punitive people.9

 

As we contemplate our image of God and the end times, we seek the enlightenment of the Spirit to show us the path to practice greater love for God and Creation.

 

References

1	(n.d.). Jeremiah, CHAPTER 33 | USCCB. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jeremiah/33
2	(n.d.). Psalms, PSALM 25 | USCCB. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/25
3	(n.d.). 1 Thessalonians, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1thessalonians/4
4	(n.d.). Luke, CHAPTER 21 | USCCB. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/21
5	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - Online Ministries. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/112821.html
6	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2021&date=nov28
7	(n.d.). Meditation: Luke 21:25-28, 34-36. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://wau.org/meditations/2021/
8	(2012, November 30). Advent, Anticipation and the Days that are Coming | Thinking Faith. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20121130_2.htm
9	(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archive: 2021 - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://cac.org/creating-god-in-our-own-image-2021-11-28/