Word to the Wise
Tuesday, May 22, 2018 - Tuesday in the 7th Week in Ordinary Time
[Jas 4:1-10 and Mark 9:30-37]Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” 36 He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
Liturgical "Ordinary Time" returns today and picks up where it left off before Ash Wednesday in the Letter of James and the Gospel According to Mark. We will remain in Ordinary Time until the First Sunday of Advent. There will be big feast days here and there and certain saints that will attract our attention from time to time, but Ordinary Time calls our attention to the "everydayness" of Christian life and reflection. The gospel scripture today with Jesus' comment about receiving a child opens a world of reflection.
In Jesus' time, children had no "rights" in our sense of that word except to continue the family line and be a part of the family, clan and tribe. They could be traded or sold at the will of the head of the family. In using a child to illustrate his teaching, Jesus picked one of the most vulnerable beings of the day. Whoever wants to be "powerful" in the kingdom of God must take care of the most powerless persons in the kingdom. By doing this, a disciple will be receiving God!
Although children definitely have rights in our time, child abuse is still a major problem, ranging from abortion to sexual abuse to slavery to simple neglect. The well-documented breakdown of family life in our country leaves children at the whim of the TV and cell-phone and computer games that exalt violence and sexual exploitation. Among the many hard challenges of Christian faith, the challenge to eliminate abortion and child abuse stands out as an "everyday" issue. In prayer and action, we can "receive" the vulnerable child and in doing so receive the One who sent Jesus to us. AMEN
[Note to the Beloved Congregation. May 22, 2018 is the 47th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood. I have been a Dominican friar 53 years and a priest 47 years. Please pray for me.]