Daily Gospel Reflection for August 19, 2017

Today's Gospel: Matthew 19:13-15

As a mother, it is easy for me to think of my own children when I read today’s Gospel passage from Matthew.

From their infancy, my husband and I have constantly brought our children to Jesus. We first brought them to the Lord when we asked to have them baptized as sons and daughters of God. Then, we brought them to Him every Sunday at Holy Mass. Even when they were squirmy and fussy, we had them with us at church. At times, it felt like some of our fellow parishioners acted like the disciples in today’s Gospel, rebuking us when one of our children was too noisy, but we did our best to remember that Jesus’ words are far more important than their annoyed glances. As our children grew, we taught them more about Jesus and our faith, and we continue to pray for our children and entrust them to the Lord on a daily basis.

Reflecting further on today’s Gospel reading, though, I started to imagine myself as one of those children. Since Jesus is the perfect image of God the Father, I can trust that His words to those little children are God’s exact words to me.

“Come to me, my daughter. The kingdom of heaven belongs to you.”

Can you just imagine Jesus’ face when those children came up to Him, climbed upon His lap, and hugged him? I am certain that His smile radiated love and joy. Their love for Him was His delight.

The same is true for you and me. When we come to God, His face lights up with delight. He wants nothing more than for us to come to Him and rest in the reality that we are His daughters and sons. And He is our Father.

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Ponder:

Do you think of yourself as God’s beloved daughter or son? Take a few moments to re-read today’s Gospel and picture yourself as one of the children.

Pray:

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me and delighting in me. I am grateful to be Your child.

Copyright 2017 Sarah Damm