The Wise Child

" At that time, Jesus exclaimed: 'I give praise to you, 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 little ones.' " [Matthew 11: 25-30].


A former pastor at my church used to say that God is the Master of Irony. You know- -- "The meek shall inherit the earth."  "The last shall be first."

In Matthew 11, Jesus says that although Truths are hidden from the wise and learned, these Truths are revealed to the little ones.

And so, ironically, it is the little children who are wise.  In fact, in Matthew 18, we find another reference to the child : "I tell you the truth, unless you turn around and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven."

The most miraculous thing about a tiny child is that she has an innate desire for Love. I do not believe that this is accidental. God IS Love and at birth, He puts the desire for Love in our hearts.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, "The desire for God is written upon the human heart." Simply put, the desire for God IS the desire for Love. And the desire for Love IS the desire for God, for God's Love is everlasting, unconditional and life-sustaining.

This is not some sweet inanity to be embroidered on a pillow or a cross stitch sampler. The desire for Love, in God and through God, is vital for our very survival.

Imagine if a child were designed to naturally gravitate towards harshness and cruelty. She would not survive for very long, would she?

If the child sees adults -- even her parents --  emanating cruelty, the child naturally shrinks away. She fears her parents. Out of distrust, she perhaps refuses food from them. She stays alert, even at night. She does not babble or verbalize or talk. She neither smiles nor cries. She shuts down.

That was me, as a child. I could not subsist in that airless, Loveless environment. I became like a ghostly phantom, noiselessly slipping away..

And yet, in our society, the adults have that mantle of authority, that presumed wisdom that comes from being grown-ups, from being Mom and Dad. Adults are considered to be the responsible ones. Adults are in charge. Adults are presumed to be the wise ones. Oh, adults have all the rules, all the judgments.

After awhile, though, a child in cruel circumstances begins to wonder. That life-giving and life-sustaining Love, so desperately desired,  becomes the benchmark. Anything else that falls short, is suspect.

Many times as a child, I heard my parents making racist remarks about every ethnic group, other than our ow. I knew that was not Love. In my heart, I knew they were wrong.

Not having my needs met; hearing their hate filled rants, I began to spend almost all of my time alone. It must have been in my alone-ness, in the silence, that I truly found God. He is more visible, when we strip away the noise of the secular world.

It is difficult to explain how I knew that God was there. A woman I know said to me, "Racism is a learned behavior. It is a miracle that you did not become hateful, like them."  Choking back tears, I said to her, "A child does not want Hate. She longs for Love."

I can only resort to metaphor or parable to explain how, as a mere child, I recognized the Truth of God, in that environment----

Imagine that you are out walking your little dog. Your normally loyal, obedient dog suddenly starts barking and pacing, tugging at the leash. You scold her and try to get her to heel. She is acting out "for no reason." After all, you see and hear nothing at all.

Finally, you humor her, and let her lead you on her leash. She races round to the back of the tree. Almost camouflaged on the gray bark is a gray squirrel. Your lowly dog knew what was there. You, however, were mired in your Rules about a proper walk, with a well-behaved dog. You relied only on what you could see.

You lacked imagination. Your dog trusted that Something was there, even if not visible or audible.

A child, longing for Love, not bound by what is entirely visible, possessing a vivid imagination about what is possible, innocently expecting a better, more Loving world -- that child can see God, whereas often the learned adult cannot.

That child can require and DEMAND God's presence, in a world where adults have made God irrelevant; or in a world where adults lack the imagination or the conviction to even admit a Loving God.

To find God:   Imagine. Trust in the Sublime necessity for Love. Know in your heart, even if you cannot see with your eyes. Take nothing for granted. Be in awe. Believe. Be like an innocent, wise child.


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