Commentary on the Gospel for august 13, 2024

The Lectionary suggests two passages from Matthew (Matt, 18, 1-5 10. 12-14) for the Gospel reading, which, in my opinion, are hard to connect. In the first one, Jesus says we can’t get into heaven unless we become like little kids. Then it jumps to verse ten. The scary part about those who lead little ones astray is missing: “It would be better for them to have a millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” If you read chapter 18 without skipping around, it all makes more sense.

We live in a society that’s constantly going on and on about children’s rights in declarations, agreements, protection laws, and legal stuff… But it seems like we don’t react when we see that, in reality, these super-protected and pampered kids, along with other helpless and vulnerable kids, are having their innocence trampled on, and in the most heartbreaking cases, they’re being abused and messed up. Of course, the first responsibility to protect and care for them lies with their parents. But it’s everyone’s duty. It’s a moral obligation built into being human, it’s a social instinct that makes grown-ups feed and take care of their young.

Jesus tells us to be like little kids. In different writings, Chesterton highlights two childhood traits we should get back to become like children: wonder and trust. Little kids are amazed by anything and everything, just because it “is,” and they’re surprised by every way that “being” shows up or by the natural laws of our world: a person, a boy, a girl, a grandma, a guy walking down the street, a baby, a flower, a bug, a rock, the moon, a shadow, gravity, light, a dream… Plus, a baby is trusting: they have no choice but to depend on their parents or adults, and they grow up with that basic trust, expecting mom, dad, or any grown-up to solve their problems and fix everything.

Becoming like little kids means keeping that sense of wonder and awe for everything that exists… recognizing the Creator of it all. To quote Chesterton: “The wisest philosophers have never attained the gravity which dwells in the eyes of a baby of three months old. It is the gravity of astonishment at the universe.” It also means realizing that we can’t do anything but trust in God, who brought us into this world. We depend on Him for everything.

In the end, it’s about trusting without limits in the Good Shepherd who doesn’t want to lose any of his sheep.