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Saturday 19th Week in Ordinary Time
Washington Retreat House
August 17, 2019
USUAL CHILDLIKE QUALITIES +++++++++++++++++++
Ø What can Jesus mean when he says that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to children?
Ø Most commentators think of innocence, humility, simplicity, & vulnerability as typical of children
Ø Surely these are the qualities Jesus expects to find in his followers
Ø Conversely, the guilty, proud, the ostentatious, and self-righteous people scarcely reflect the values of the Gospel and the Kingdom of Heaven
ANOTHER QUALITY: ADAPTABILITY ++++++++++++++
Ø Consider one other disposition typically part of a child’s makeup, namely, adaptability
Ø As children, we adapt to the customs, style, setting, and attitudes of our home life
Ø If our parents go shoeless in the house, we find that normal behavior and imitate it
Ø If R parents insist R family eat meals together, we initially take that to be the norm for every family
Ø Children are unconsciously formed by the values in which they live
Ø When, like children, we submit to the values of God’s Kingdom & think of them as normal, we, too, belong to the Kingdom
Ø Are not our protestations formations from another culture?
Ø Can they not be changed?
Ø When you’re offered a carrot, you’ll drop the turnip
Ø Both may be good for you, but one tastes better and so it is with choosing the values of G’s K
CHOOSING THE KINGDOM +++++++++++++++++++++
Ø Criteria 4 family life is what parents do & demand
Ø Criteria 4 the Kingdom = what J does & demands
Ø Formed by environment of the Kingdom, we find the peace & security of having G as R Creator, Jesus as our guide & Spirit sustaining us
CONCLUSION ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø Yes, Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these “adaptable” children
Ø And it belongs to us when we adapt to the same style of living
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