Heaven in the Young (HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE NINETEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR II (AUGUST 13, 2024

HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE NINETEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR II (AUGUST 13, 2024)

Ezekiel 2:8-3:4; Ps.119; Matthew 18:1-5,10,12-14

Heaven in the Young

As humans, we unconsciously develop scale of preference for persons and things in our lives. There are persons we see to be more important to us than others. When these persons invite us for celebrations, we don’t give excuses; when we miss their calls, we return it as soon as possible; when they come visiting, we give them our best, and so on. Our action will be the reverse for those who may not be too important to us. If you are important to a highly placed personality in the society, you are said to be connected.

It is with this mindset that the disciples of Jesus approached him in today’s gospel asking “who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” They wanted to know what attributes in a person catches God’s attention the most such that the person will be more important to God than the others. The question about greatest is actually about being more important.

Jesus used the example of a child to answer this question. Bringing forth a child first shows that there is no hierarchy of personalities in the kingdom of heaven. To be great in God’s kingdom is to belong there; not to be great in God’s kingdom, is not to belong there. In heaven, we shall all be equal because heaven means the presence of God; and God is not unequal within himself. Therefore, the necessary question should be how to belong to the kingdom of God not who will be the greatest.

Secondly, the symbol of a child teaches us that God is not carried away by size and number. All that exists belongs to God and He is equally interested in them all. God does not focus on the mighty and is less interested in the weak. God does not answer the prayer of the rich quicker and better than he answers that of the poor. He is the Good Shepherd.

We are therefore called today, to pay attention to little things. Do not constitute a negative influence to the young, do not sin before little ones with the thought that they don’t know what you are doing, do not brainwash children or try to deceive them. Do not maltreat them simply because they are your house help.

If God pays attention to the young, he also pays attention to the foetus in the womb because life begins from there. Therefore, abortion is grave evil to the young. To kill is worse than to negatively influence or to brainwash or to maltreat. Jesus warns us “see that you do not despise one of these little ones”. God is the defender of the defenseless. Killing is never a solution to any problem or mistake. If we cannot belong to the kingdom of God unless we become like little children, even farer from the kingdom will we be when do harm to the young. There is something of heaven in the young.