Our Venerable Father Macarius of Egypt (c. 390
James 1:1-18; Mark 10:11-16
Read Mark 10:11-16
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Jesus proposes that the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are like children. Why? For starters, children don’t know how to dissemble, how to be one way and act another. They are what they are; they act in accordance with their deepest nature. “Kids say the darndest things,” because they don’t know how to hide the truth of their reactions. In this, they are like stars or flowers or animals, things that are what they are, unambiguously, uncomplicatedly. They are in accord with God’s deepest intentions for them.
To say it another way, they haven’t yet learned how to look at themselves. Why can a child immerse himself so eagerly and thoroughly in what he is doing? Why can he find joy in the simplest thing, like pushing a train around a track or watching a video over and over, or kicking a ball around? Because he can lose himself; because he is not looking at himself, not conscious of other people’s reactions, expectations, and approval.
Mind you, this childlikeness has nothing to do with being unsophisticated, unaccomplished, or childish. Childlikeness has to do with that rootedness in what God wants us to be.