MONDAY 2nd OCTOBER 2023
Matthew 18, 1-5. 10
“… If they do not become like little children again, they will not enter the kingdom of heaven…. Beware of despising one of these little ones…. The Father in heaven does not want even one of them to be lost…”
Who is the most important in the Kingdom of Heaven? This is the question that Jesus is asked and we may be able to say that it is: the most mature, the leader, the most studied, the most helpful, etc. However, Jesus responds by placing a child at the centre and inviting us to build community life.
* Children count for nothing, they are in a corner, they are used and perhaps undervalued…. For Jesus, they are the important ones, that is to say, the excluded, the unwanted, the exploited… they are the important ones! The option for the poor in Jesus is the option to dignify the marginalised and there are many of them today, they are the important ones in the Kingdom.
* Be careful not to despise! Jesus continues, some of them. In communities or groups we find people who think they are superior to others, especially because of their seniority, and they are not very fraternal. Before Jesus, the most fragile and the smallest are the ones who need the most care. No one is more than anyone else! That is why personal and continuous conversion is also needed, because life is a process and nothing is fixed, there is always room for improvement.
* The community must be like the shepherd who cares for, accompanies and seeks out those who are lost. Not the one that throws out, excludes and closes doors. We must take time to accompany and care for the fragile and the small, to look out for them when they wander away and always open the doors for them to return.
Who are the excluded in our society and what do I do for them? Why is it that God prefers the poor and the marginalised to the perfect? Am I a good example for the people in my community? Do I care for and accompany the little ones in my community? How does my community resemble the good shepherd? Let us allow ourselves to be accompanied by Jesus.
Good day to you.
Antonio Sanjuan Cmf
