Learning humility and peace from our children
Matthew 5:1-12A
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the
mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to
teach them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who
hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are
the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for
they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called
children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of
righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they
insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely
because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in
heaven."
Do you ever
wonder why God gave us our children? Everyone would like to answer that it’s to
make us happy, and that they, too, might be happy. But I don’t think that’s it
at all. I am convinced that God gave us children to keep us adults humble. Have
you ever been humbled by your children? Last week I visited a parish family
where two girls were working on a craft project with paper and glue and cups
and colored balls. I asked: “How did you learn to do that – did you read about
it in a book?” They answered, “Nope, we watched a Youtube video!” I thought to
myself, “Fr. John, whatever you say next, do NOT ask, ‘What’s a Youtube
video?’” I felt very humbled.
Recently, a
friend sent me some humorous stories by email. One went like this: The
preacher’s 5 year-old daughter noticed that her father always paused and bowed
his head for a moment before starting his sermon. One day, she asked him why.
“Well, honey,” he began, proud that his daughter was so observant of his
messages. “I’m asking the Lord to help me preach a good sermon.” She asked,
“Well, how come he doesn’t answer it?” And that is precisely why Catholic
priests do not have children. God gave you children to help you be humble.
In the
gospel today, we see a practical application of humility, namely, humility
helps us to be peacemakers, and we must learn peace-making from children. Jesus
delivers his famous Sermon on the Mount, and I’m sure he, too, paused to ask
the Holy Spirit to help him preach a good sermon. And that time, the Spirit did. Jesus begins with the eight Beatitudes, and
I’d like to skip down to number seven and say a word about it. Jesus said,
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.”
Now, why does Jesus connect peace-making with being a child of God? Well, I
think the hidden clue is humility. Children are naturally humble – they know
they don’t know everything, that’s why they go to school! – and you can only
make peace if you first swallow your pride. How many children have helped their
parents to make peace with each other: parents make peace for the sake of their
children, they make peace because they have children. Whereas, without children present, parental
angst and anger can escalate to disagreements and disputes and sadly even
divorce. God gave us children to help us be humble, because that’s the only way
to overcome our pride and find the path to peace. “Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.”
As you know,
today we begin celebrating “Catholic Schools Week,” and all week long we give
God thanks for our precious parochial school, as well as for all our students
and staff and families and benefactors! Only in a Catholic school can we even
ask the question: “Why did God give us children?” because within these walls,
we are free to explore the entire gamut of human existence – from our origin in
God all the way to our hopeful, heavenly destiny, and everything in between.
What a blessing Catholics schools are, and we rightly celebrate them today.
I want to
tip my hat to “Mrs. B” (who’s also known as Sharon Blentlinger) for the
wonderful work she does with our students every day. One of her most admirable
qualities is she doesn’t just want to teach students science and spelling and
social studies; she also wants to develop the whole child. For instance,
several years ago she initiated the “Leader In Me” program to teach leadership
according to Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits.” Last week the following students
received the coveted “Student of the Month Award” because each of them
demonstrated exceptionally the Fourth Habit called “Think Win-Win.” They are:
Kaitlin Seiter, Ben Beland, Ethan Beene, Ben Schluterman, Annie-Kate Ward,
Brooklin Bourdeaux, Layza Garcia, Malcolm Harper, Julia Suggs, Isabella
Kindrick, AnnMaria Kersh, Anabelle Hadley, George Harrel, and Peyton Yaffe. In
addition, this year Mrs. B has started a new program called “The Essential 10,”
which challenges both teachers and students to master those practices that are
most influential in being good Christians. This is something only a Catholic
school can offer.
Last
Wednesday our school had a Geography Bee, and I watched in wide-eyed wonder as
Asher Ellis out-lasted Luke Jackson and Marcos Manjarrez by answering questions
about locations of places I had never even heard of. The next time you’re
feeling too much pride, just come and listen to our students in the Geography
Bee. They will humble you; and that’s a good thing; that’s why God gave them to
us.
My friends,
why do we have schools at all? We have schools so students can learn things.
And what could possibly be more important to learn than why you are here, where
you came from, and where you are going? In other words, question like, “Why did
God give us children?” Our Catholic schools teach our students the best answer
to that question, like it stated in the older Catechisms: “God made me to know,
to love and to serve him in this world, and to be happy with him in the next.”
Oh, and also to teach my parents how to be humble.
Praised be
Jesus Christ!
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