Daily Reflection
August 16, 2025

I can imagine Jesus, at the end of a long day of teaching, healing, and perhaps encounters with the Jews, looking up to see children running toward him.  The feelings of stress and tiredness evaporate as he notices their smiling faces and hears their laughter.  He rebuffs the disciples’ attempts to shoo them away, saying Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them.  I imagine him wanting to submerge himself in their unconditional trust and love.  Perhaps he thinks this is the perfect way to end the day a perfect day, and thus he exclaims, The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these!

A characteristic of young children is their ability to stay in the present.  As the children gather around Jesus, they are not distracted, ruminating on what happened earlier, or planning tomorrow’s agenda.  They have not come with doubts or needs.  They are here to “see” Jesus with their whole being.  Without analyzing, rationalizing, or consulting sacred text, they “just know” who he is.  Maybe Jesus heard his Father say, ‘What a delightful affirmation of you.’  They get it!  Keep up the good work, Son!

In the words, The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these, I hear an invitation.  How might my life change if I spend more time in the present, sitting with Jesus rather than worrying about the things of the world?  How might my day be different if I start the morning by approaching God with joy and gratitude, a sense of wonder and trust that miracles will happen today?  Would it be easier to Find God in All Things, even in the places where I do not want to look? 

I have read that children during Jesus’ time had few, if any, rights.  Even today, despite laws that seek to protect them, it is often the youngest members of society who suffer the most.  In this reading, I hear Jesus calling adults (like me) to help children run to Him.  This awareness pricks my conscience, leading me to ask myself several questions.  How do I help children “see” Jesus?  What injustice(s) am I choosing to ignore, perhaps because it seems too big to tackle?  What might change if I sit with Jesus, asking Him to help me see what is possible at this time and within the concrete circumstances of my life? 

Another characteristic of small children is that the word impossible is not in their vocabulary.  The big empty box transforms into the fastest race car ever, or the rocket that flies to the moon in just minutes.  They might not know who St. Ignatius is, but they instinctively take his advice to Dream Big!  One big dream I have is that more adults will read and follow the advice offered by Robert Fulghum in “Everything I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”  All I Really Need To Know I Learned in… book by Robert Fulghum.  For example:
•    Share everything
•    Play fair
•    Don’t hit people 
•    Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody
•    Live a balanced life – learn some and think some, and draw and paint: and sing
and dance and play and work every day some.

One lesson I take away from this short reading is that the disposition of a small child can break down the barriers (disordered attachments?) I cling to which keeps me from seeing the daily manifestation of God’s surprises.  So, just for today, I resolve to learn some and think some, and draw and paint: and sing and dance and play and work some. 

What about you, how will you spend today?