13 August 2024 -- Tuesday of the 19th week "B"
Ezekiel 2:8 -- 3:4; Matt 18:1-5. 10. 12-14
Homily
Jesus' disciples were always worried about which of them would be the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven! Today's Gospel gives us two answers from Jesus to this concern of his disciples. In the first, he invites them to become like little children again.
First of all, let us note that he does not invite them to remain like little children, that is to say to continue to behave all their lives in a childish and immature way. On the contrary, he invites them to become like little children -- which is much more demanding.
It's easy to remain a child all your life -- and quite common, in fact. Becoming a child is much more difficult. For you first have to become an adult and then, through a long process of purification and detachment, acquire once again the qualities of childhood. These qualities are those of simplicity, purity of heart, spontaneity, openness and truth.
These are the virtues that Jesus strove to train his Apostles in. This is why, often in the Gospel, when he speaks of "these little ones", he is talking about his Apostles.
In the second part of the text, Jesus invites his Apostles and all of us to become like little children, like himself, knowing not only how to put the care of the lost sheep before the care of all our other possessions, but also how to rejoice when the lost sheep has been found. Let's remember that, in the parable of the prodigal son, the second son (the one who stayed at home) is reproached for not being able to take part in the feast and rejoice in his brother's return.
If we are here today and if we can celebrate the Eucharist, is it not because one day the Lord left the 99 other sheep to come in search of us?
Armand Veilleux