The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing, as they rejoice before you as at the harvest, as people make merry when dividing spoils. For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, and the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on the day of Midian. For every boot that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for flames. For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God- Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. His dominion is vast and forever peaceful. He will rule as David’s successor, basing his power on right and justice, from now until the end of time. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this!
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and with- out blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to
himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved. Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love for all the holy ones, do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones.
People were bringing their little children to Jesus that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them: “Let the children come to me. Do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” Then he embraced the children and blessed them, placing his hands on them.
Reflection
by Grace B. Madriñan
“Amen,
I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not
enter it.” – Mark 10:15
Why is it that we can’t help but smile when there is a baby around? Even as you try to ignore
them, they will find ways to catch your
attention. You can’t help but follow
them with your eyes and in your mind, you will think, “what is he up this time?” A toddler is always up to something and their
smiles and laughter are contagious. And
even when they did something to hurt you like pull your hair or almost pluck
your eyes, you can’t even get angry with
them. They just show their toothless
smile and the pain goes away.
Maybe that’s how God feels about us. When He sees us, He also can’t help but smile. His eyes are
always on us. And although He knew what
we are up to, He never intervenes. He
joins us in our laughter. Even though we
did something to hurt Him, one smile and “sorry” from us eases His pain.
And that’s where the
problem comes in. We hurt God but we
rarely come to Him first. We run away as far as we can. We are overpowered by our pride and guilt
thinking that our sins are too much to be forgiven with just one "sorry".
If we can only be like a child, who raises up his hands for his
father to pick him up whenever he is sleepy or tired from playing. Observe how
he stretches out his hands with full trust that he can find rest in his father’s
arms. If we can just do the same,
stretch out our hands at the end of the day, “Father, forgive me. I am tired of
running. “ God will definitely pull us
out and let us rest in His arms for awhile.
Prayer
Father, teach us to be
more trusting like a child. May we run
to You and be our first source of refuge in times of rest. Amen.
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