“The calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them. A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” (Isaiah 11,1)
A child stands atop Isaiah’s peaceable kingdom in Tuesday’s first reading at Mass. Edward Hicks, the Quaker painter, made over 100 copies of this scene from Isaiah, carefully indicating in the far left the peace treaty between William Penn and the native peoples of Pennsylvania in colonial America.
It takes a child to believe the astounding promises Isaiah makes. Adults, hardened by the experience of life, struggle with the prophet’s words. That’s why Advent invites us to become children, not physically, of course, but spiritually.
Become like little children. That’s what Jesus told his followers, and he praised the childlike:
“I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike.” Luke 10
Only the childlike believe in great promises.
What does being “childlike” mean? Here’s what St. Leo the Great said about Jesus’s teaching on spiritual childhood: To be a child means to be “free from crippling anxiety, to be forgetful of injuries, to be sociable and to keep wondering at all things.”
A little child in its mother’s arms has no worries. It’s a good place to be, free from anxieties and a mother’s voice promising all will be well. Advent brings that grace back to us; a grace we can lose so easily.
Jesus experienced that grace in Mary’s arms. Herod’s soldiers, like Isaiah’s Assyrian armies, were on their way. It’s a poor place where he’s born, no room in the inn, but the Child in his mother’s arms has no fear. All will be well.
Injuries come. The world can turn hostile. The promises may seem far away, but from infancy to his death, Jesus knew he was a child of God, his Father, in God’s caring hands and destined for God’s kingdom.
Help us, Lord to become like children
The Victor's Place 
Amen Father.
May we see Christ in every child we come across, and see a child each time we look in the mirror.
This topic reminds me of a story I heard some years ago about a woman living in a convent that may locals considered holy. Visitors would stand at the window and ask her through the bars for a holy picture. And she would say: “Don’t you have a picture of yourself as a child?
Amen.
Let us all see our childhoods as post-grad work in piety.
LikeLike
There’s a photo on the bookcase shelf of me and our dog Teddy when I was a
toddler. I’ve looked at that picture many times over the years but today was the first time I saw the child and recognized me. I will see it differently from
now on.
Gloria Ziemienski
LikeLike
The child is still there, Gloria, shining brightly.
Fr.Victor
LikeLike
To be a child means to be “free from crippling anxiety, to be forgetful of injuries, to be sociable and to keep wondering at all things.”
To have a sense of wonder is such a positive attitude.
Looking widely while wondering inspires gratitude.
Crippling anxiety is another animal, often cruel,
Putting negativity in a large mug for me to drink.
Lord, give me a childlike heart to see
Your wonderful goodness all around me.
LikeLike
The Sign of the Cross:
When I think of my Heavenly Father I imagine “Papa” holding me and caressing my wounds, smiling at me, gently encouraging me to grow up(!) and become His beloved son in whom He is so well pleased. When I think of the Son, my Lord Jesus, I see Him as my older Brother whom I follow like a fascinated kid, because He loves me, teaches me, protects me. When I face the Divine Spirit I feel like a baby facing his Mother in awe and trust. She’s still a mystery to me, but she holds me lovingly and gives me life. Amen.
LikeLike
God’s eye is on the sparrow,
And God watches over me.
In God’s caring providence,
Destined for the heavenly kingdom,
Safeguarding me today,
And each tomorrow.
LikeLike