False self is an identity based on what you have, what you do, and what others think about you. In stark contrast to this is the true self in Christ, which is who we are before God and in God - Christ living in us, as Paul put it to the churches in Galatia.
- M. Basil Pennington (Be in touch this day with the true self that you are.) |
EZ 2:8—3:4; PS 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131
MT 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever becomes humble like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.
What is your opinion?
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
In just the same way, it is not the will of your
heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost."
Reflection on the Scriptures
Jesus called us to love our neighbors as ourselves
and, in this reading, to humble ourselves and become like children. I don’t believe he is asking that we forego the responsibilities and seriousness that accompany adulthood. But I do believe that he is imploring us to not become so cynical and sinful that we can no longer engage with and appreciate God’s creation through the innocent, trusting and joyful eyes of a child. Jesus is also asking us, through his parable of the shepherd, to never give up on our ‘strays’ – those around us, young and old alike – who venture away from their faith. God doesn't desire that anyone be lost, and it is our charge to remain hopeful, trusting, and joyful in our faith so as to inspire others and find our place in God's Kingdom.
by Kimberly Grasmeyer
The Existence of God by Francois Fenelon SECTION XIX.
Of Animals, Beasts, Fowl, Birds, Fishes, Reptiles, and Insects. Thus the Author of nature has clothed beasts according to their necessities; and their spoils serve afterwards to clothe men, and keep them warm in those frozen climes. The living creatures that have little or no hair have
a very thick and very hard skin, like scales; others have even scales that cover one another, as tiles on the top of a house, and which either open or shut, as it best suits with the living creature, either to extend itself or shrink. These skins and scales serve the necessities of men: and thus in nature, not only plants but animals also are made for our use. Wild beasts themselves either grow tame or, at least, are afraid of man. If all countries were peopled and governed as
they ought to be, there would not be anywhere beasts should attack men. For no wild beasts would be found but in remote forests, and they would be preserved in order to exercise the courage, strength, and dexterity of mankind, by a sport that should represent war; so that there never would be any occasion for real wars among nations. But observe that living creatures that are noxious to man are the least teeming, and that the most useful multiply most. There are, beyond comparison,
more oxen and sheep killed than bears or wolves; and nevertheless the number of bears and wolves is infinitely less than that of oxen and sheep still on earth. Observe likewise, with Cicero, that the females of every species have a number of teats proportioned to that of the young ones they generally bring forth. The more young they bear, with the more milk-springs has nature supplied them, to suckle them. |
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