FAITH LIKE A CHILD

FAITH LIKE A CHILD

 

He was amazed at their lack of faith. …. – Mark 6:6

 

Teena lost her husband to leukemia in 2008. When his body was about to be cremated, she told this story to her five-year-old son:  “Daddy will now go to heaven. His body will be placed in that box which will be his ride. Once the box is closed, it will enter that chamber where it will stay until we hear the bells ring. You should clap when you hear the bells because that means that the angels already took Daddy to heaven.”

When the bells rang, a complete silence descended on the crowd. The hush was broken by an applause of one. Following his mom’s instruction, the young boy celebrated the special moment.

A child’s faith is always admirable. Once they believe something, they will hang on to that idea with full conviction. Let’s pray that we may have a child’s faith as we grow in our Christian life.Alvin Fabella (alvinfabella@yahoo.com)

 

REFLECTION:

“The childlike faith that asks not sight, waits not for wonder or for sign, believes, because it loves, aright, shall see things greater, things divine.” (John Keble)

 

Lord, I pray that I may have faith like a child, for You have said that I need a child’s heart to enter Your kingdom. Amen.

 

Wrong Atmosphere

 

Jesus had it coming. He had grown up in Nazareth. He had eaten with His neighbors the same simple bread and drank with them wine. He was one of them, so much so that the people could not take it that He now moved around as a revered teacher, sometimes telling things that hurt and that people did not like to hear. I think you know very well that most people want to hear how good they are, that God is so good and merciful that He will easily forgive when they do something wrong. “God is good — always good,” they love to shout. Nothing wrong with this. God is good, but it can easily lead to ignore the harsh words of Christ.

The great British convert and writer G. K. Chesterton once wrote, “I don’t want a church that tells me when I am right. I want a church that tells me when I am wrong.” Unfortunately, there are not enough “Chestertons” in our Christian communities who want a prophetic church, who want preachers to make them face their wrong ways.

In such an atmosphere, the truth cannot prosper — as in Nazareth where prejudice had put Jesus into a certain frame: He is nothing but one of us, a simple craftsman, who now plays the prophet. In a wrong atmosphere no preaching will be successful.

Maybe we can ask ourselves: What’s my attitude when I go to church on Sunday? Am I expecting that the Word of God will hit me? Or am I indifferent? If we come to Mass and refuse to understand, we will misunderstand everything. If we select a preacher because of his jokes only, we have already created a wrong atmosphere because we will remember the jokes but not the message. Then we have created a wrong atmosphere for the Word of God to penetrate us, to change us or even to give us guidance for the next days and weeks.

Only when we create an atmosphere of openness, of expectancy  in ourselves, that even the poorest sermon can put us on fire.Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

 

Reflection Question:

Am I open during homilies even when the preacher hits me with the truth? Or do I just want to hear how good I am — when actually I am not that good?

 

Lord, give me more openness toward Your Word and toward those who proclaim it. Save me from being selective when it comes to preachers. Let me not become so insensitive that I cannot accept a word that confronts me with my weakness and failure.

 

St. Laurentinus, pray for us.