Last week, we heard our Lord Jesus speaking to – and about –
his Twelve Apostles before sending them out, for the first time,
to be ambassadors of his Kingdom.
In between the reading for last week, and what we hear today,
The Lord praises John the Baptist,
who is entirely open to the Holy Spirit,
while then speaking very severely about several towns he visited,
because they hardened their hearts to his presence.
And that brings us to today,
where Jesus contrasts those that are wise and learned,
and “little ones.”
Last week, it was the Apostles who were “little ones.”
Now, he is inviting everyone to be a “little one.”
Then, we have something stunning.
And I want to slow down here, to bid you slow down and notice this.
When Jesus says of himself, “I am meek and humble of heart,”
realize who is saying this.
The Second Person of the Trinity –
all powerful God who created all things –
is saying: “I am meek and humble of heart.”
God is “meek and humble of heart”!
I’m going to be silent for a bit so you can dwell on that for a moment.
(Long pause.)
When God says this of himself,
what does that fact change for how we, his creatures, operate?
If God can say this, who of us would hold back?
What kind of conversion does this demand of each of us?
So, as we know, this is our nation’s 250th birthday! What a moment!
No nation in history ever created itself in the way we did.
Our nation is founded, as much as anything, on an idea:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable rights,
that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Against all odds, we won our independence.
We began as a fragile, uncertain republic. We were a “little one.”
Today, we are the biggest of the big.
No nation has been so blessed with prosperity, technology and liberty.
None has ever been as powerful as we are.
In light of today’s Gospel, that is a spiritually perilous place to be!
Because our nation is governed by “we the people,”
Then we the Catholics have a grave duty to be witnesses.
To be prophets. To be prayer warriors.
Let me add, just as our nation enjoys such astounding advantages,
So too do we as Catholics in this country.
When our nation was founded,
our religious holidays were illegal in some colonies
and we were barred from public office in others.
Today, we have Catholics in the highest offices.
For heaven’s sake, a fellow American is our pope!
So, these successes can tempt us to be complacent.
We have so much richness in our tradition that if we aren’t careful,
we can be smug, or seem like know-it-alls.
Let’s go back to the astounding thing God said of himself:
“I am meek and humble of heart.”
As witnesses sent by him to repeat his words: “Come to me,”
Our hearts must likewise be humble and meek.
That transformation happens through our own ongoing conversion.
There is no better spiritual medicine, to change our hearts,
than the sacrament of confession.
A powerful prayer to begin each day is the Morning Offering.
Taking time each day to ask help – from God and others –
exercises our humility.
One day, each of us will come face-to-face with Jesus, our Lord.
He showed us what his heart looks like.
Do we not long to show him a heart that looks like his?
Of course we do!
But if that seems too overwhelming, hear again what Jesus also said:
“Come to me…take my yoke…I’ll give you rest.”
Jesus is ready to do this work with us, through us.
He asks you and me to surrender our hearts to him, to become like his.
