Feast of the Sto. Niño Jan. 18, 2009 (Mk 10:13-16)
People were bringing children to Jesus that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it."
Then he embraced the children and blessed them, placing his hands on them.
Then he embraced the children and blessed them, placing his hands on them.
The devotion to the Sto. Niño is very dear to us Filipinos. It is part of our history. The image of the Christ child is probably one of the most usual things we can find in homes, stores and business areas. But often, the only thing people think about this image is that it can bring them good fortune and protection. And so, the message of the Sto. Niño is missed.
In the Gospel today, Jesus tells us that we should be like children in order to enter the Kingdom of God. We cannot enter the Kingdom of God while proudly saying that we have all the right to enter it. We can only enter it if we humbly admit that the Father is the one who made us worthy to enter, that it is in His gracious love that we are given this inheritance.
By asking us to be like children, Jesus is inviting us to return to that time when we were dependent and trusting to the people around us, when we were innocent. These are the childlike values which Jesus wants us to have so we may enter the Kingdom of God.
Sadly, these attitudes begin to disappear as we grow older, because the world around us teaches us to shun these values. We have become exposed to treachery and deception; therefore, we lose our trust. We strive to be independent because we believe that the only one who will not betray us is our self. The world teaches us to that weakness should be done away with. And so we try to grow up as fast as we can. We also become exposed to sin. Soon we also become victims of sin, until such a time when we no longer have a sense of sin, when we can no longer identify what is sinful. Therefore, we lose our innocence.
Perhaps even more tragic is the fact that some children grow too fast. They never even had childlike values. They become exposed to evil so early in their lives. Children today no longer say "Hindi na tayo bati." if they become angry. What they do now is just raise their hands with the middle finger up (the bad sign) or just say nasty words they heard from their surroundings. They also no longer shudder at the thought of sin. They no longer recognize sins as evil. Mass media is one reason for this, also the lack of parental guidance.
Let us try to bring back the child in us. We can be responsible while still remaining like little children. We can be childlike without being childish. This is the message of the Sto. Niño. The Christ child tells us to be meek and humble, to admit our weaknesses before God and our need for Him as our Father.
Let us also help the children around us keep their childlike values. Let us allow them to be children. We must be careful not to let them grow too fast, not to expose them to the evils of this world. We should give time to teach them about God and the values that they need to develop. We must guide them so they won't go astray.
We all grow in years, in wisdom and in responsibility. Nevertheless, we must never grow from being little children of God. He is always there, extending His arms, waiting for us to receive His embrace. We must give Him the chance to be our Father and to guide us towards His Kingdom, our heavenly inheritance where only His "little children" can enter.
In the Gospel today, Jesus tells us that we should be like children in order to enter the Kingdom of God. We cannot enter the Kingdom of God while proudly saying that we have all the right to enter it. We can only enter it if we humbly admit that the Father is the one who made us worthy to enter, that it is in His gracious love that we are given this inheritance.
By asking us to be like children, Jesus is inviting us to return to that time when we were dependent and trusting to the people around us, when we were innocent. These are the childlike values which Jesus wants us to have so we may enter the Kingdom of God.
Sadly, these attitudes begin to disappear as we grow older, because the world around us teaches us to shun these values. We have become exposed to treachery and deception; therefore, we lose our trust. We strive to be independent because we believe that the only one who will not betray us is our self. The world teaches us to that weakness should be done away with. And so we try to grow up as fast as we can. We also become exposed to sin. Soon we also become victims of sin, until such a time when we no longer have a sense of sin, when we can no longer identify what is sinful. Therefore, we lose our innocence.
Perhaps even more tragic is the fact that some children grow too fast. They never even had childlike values. They become exposed to evil so early in their lives. Children today no longer say "Hindi na tayo bati." if they become angry. What they do now is just raise their hands with the middle finger up (the bad sign) or just say nasty words they heard from their surroundings. They also no longer shudder at the thought of sin. They no longer recognize sins as evil. Mass media is one reason for this, also the lack of parental guidance.
Let us try to bring back the child in us. We can be responsible while still remaining like little children. We can be childlike without being childish. This is the message of the Sto. Niño. The Christ child tells us to be meek and humble, to admit our weaknesses before God and our need for Him as our Father.
Let us also help the children around us keep their childlike values. Let us allow them to be children. We must be careful not to let them grow too fast, not to expose them to the evils of this world. We should give time to teach them about God and the values that they need to develop. We must guide them so they won't go astray.
We all grow in years, in wisdom and in responsibility. Nevertheless, we must never grow from being little children of God. He is always there, extending His arms, waiting for us to receive His embrace. We must give Him the chance to be our Father and to guide us towards His Kingdom, our heavenly inheritance where only His "little children" can enter.
No comments:
Post a Comment