Dt 31:1-8
When Moses had finished speaking to all Israel, he said to them, “I am now one hundred and twenty years old and am no longer able to move about freely; besides, the LORD has told me that I shall not cross this Jordan. It is the LORD, your God, who will cross before you; he will destroy these nations before you, that you may supplant them. It is Joshua who will cross before you, as the LORD promised. The LORD will deal with them just as he dealt with Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites whom he destroyed, and with their country. When, therefore, the LORD delivers them up to you, you must deal with them exactly as I have ordered you. Be brave and steadfast; have no fear or dread of them, for it is the LORD, your God, who marches with you; he will never fail you or forsake you.”
Then Moses summoned Joshua and in the presence of all Israel said to him, “Be brave and steadfast, for you must bring this people into the land which the LORD swore to their fathers he would give them; you must put them in possession of their heritage. It is the LORD who marches before you; he will be with you and will never fail you or forsake you. So do not fear or be dismayed.”
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.”
Today’s readings seem to be about humility and being open to God’s guidance. Moses tells Joshua and the Israelites that he will not cross the Jordan with them. The leader for the last 40 years is saying this is the end of the line. Moses tells them to be brave and steadfast and that the Lord will be with them. And in Matthew, the disciples want to know who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. Jesus places a child in their midst and says whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
Today’s culture does not encourage reflection. It’s go, go, go all the time! Every waking hour has to be filled. If the page does not come up in five seconds, click on to the next. I don’t have time to talk, so I’ll just text, or even better, “twitter.”
The disciples are classic examples of this. They wanted to know how to be the greatest. No time to pray for guidance. Just give it to us. How many do we have to heal? Tell us in 20 words or less. Jesus, time and again, has to tell the disciples to come away with Him to a quiet place.
Today’s readings were very convicting for me. I like to think that I am on a journey with Christ. I have a strong desire to serve others. In fact, as you know if you’ve been reading my blog recently, I have been trying to become a Eucharistic Minister. I accompanied a woman from the St. Anne’s two weeks ago and thought I was on my way, because she said she would set up an appointment with the hospital administration to allow me access and send me some prayer books and take me around again, but I haven’t heard from anyone at the church since. I wrote emails and have left some messages—still no response. And in today’s world, I thought I would get a quicker response. After today’s readings, I realized I had stopped asking God for guidance and direction on how to get the ball rolling again—So it will be back to prayer for me tonight that he will give me a quick answer. In the meantime, however, I will continue to try and speed up the process. The desire in my soul to bring Jesus to the hospital and homebound is very persistent and it’s frustrating that the process is taking so long.
My prayer today is for all of us who need to slow down. That we would take time and make ourselves available to God. That we would open our hearts to whatever God would call us to do. That we would ask God questions and wait on the Lord for guidance, wisdom and answers.
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