Welcoming God’s Reign Like a Child | Sunday Reflection | 3rd Sunday of Advent

More than any other season, this time of year is associated with children. Almost all of the imagery surrounding the Christmas holiday is focused on the experience of kids. For them, it’s a time of excitement and joy, and hopefully we who are older can also think back to some happy memories from that time in our lives. But as we grow older, the cares of life can sometimes dim the glow of this season. We find ourselves extra busy and maybe extra stressed. As we come to the end of the year, perhaps we find ourselves looking back at 2024 with mixed feelings. Maybe there are difficulties at work or at home. Perhaps a family member or other loved one has gone home to God this past year, and the holidays will be different because you’ll feel their absence.

Jesus famously tells His followers, “Unless you turn and become like children, you cannot enter the kingdom of God.” When you think about it, it’s actually a pretty mysterious statement. But for our purposes today, we can condense it down to this: adults, despite our learning and experience, can still learn and relearn important spiritual truths from children. Here are two truths that have struck me over the past couple days.

At the parish where I served prior to teaching at the seminary, the kindergarten class at our parochial school put on an annual Nativity play. The kids would spend something like a month and half getting ready, and the teachers always did an amazing job of coordinating the legions of little angels and shepherds moving on and off the stage. I saw the production five years in a row, and my favorite part was always the same. Joseph and Mary arrive in Bethlehem without a reservation, and they’re seeking accommodations for the evening. Joseph goes to one side of the stage and knocks, and the little head of a small innkeeper pops out from the side.

“Hi, I’m Joseph. Do you have any room for me and Mary?”

“No, sorry, Joseph, we don’t have any room. Maybe try down the road.”

And they both smile and shake hands, and Joseph scurries across the stage to the other side and knocks. Out pops another little guy and the same exchange recurs. But eventually Joseph finds a place to stay.

What I love about the scene is the total lack of worry displayed by Joseph each year as he’s speaking these lines which convey an otherwise desperate situation. Now, I don’t think the real Joseph was scampering around Bethlehem with a big smile, but if he was childlike, as the saints generally tend to be, then I’m guessing he lived that challenging moment with trust that God His Father would take care of Him. This what St. Paul is calling us to recover within ourselves when he speaks in our Second Reading today: “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds…” This trust doesn’t gloss over or deny the challenges that may confront us. But it recognizes that God is greater than any obstacle, and that He will guide us through them.

The other truth that I was reminded of came from a comment someone made. They observed: Have you ever noticed the flight pattern of a child coming in for a landing by the gifts at the Christmas tree? Does a kid come downstairs and then slowly zig zag through various rooms until arriving at the tree? Do they perhaps wander out into the backyard, or go down the block, and then circle back? Nope - kids tend to naturally choose the shortest and most direct path between them and the gifts they’re about to receive. And they often traverse that path at considerable speed.

There’s no coincidence that when John the Baptist was sent to prepare Israel for the gift of God’s only-begotten Son, his message was “Make straight the way of the Lord!” In other words, get your hearts ready to receive Jesus just like an eager child would await a gift from his or her parents. And in the Gospel today, John is teaching the people how to make that straight path. For some, it’s by relinquishing the distraction of greed, which turns us away from spiritual realities. For others, it’s by working to treat others more justly, since we can’t possibly love God and mistreat our fellow human beings at the same time.

There are many things that might tug our hearts off the most direct path to God. That’s why we don’t just jump directly to Christmas. If we use this time of Advent well, we’ll get more out of the gift of the Christmas experience, because our hearts will be better equipped to receive it like a child. During these penitential days, let’s ask God to increase our trust, and in prayer, bring to Him with honesty those obstacles that may make it difficult for us to trust. And if our path to God has been zig-zagging, or going in circles, now is the prime time to make it straight. May the Eucharist which we offer together cleanse us of our faults and prepare us for the coming feasts.