Today, we celebrate the feast of the Child Jesus, the Sto. Niño. Our readings revolve around children. The first reading was introduced by these words, “for unto us a child is born” and summed up by the Lord saying, “…those who will not come unto me like children will not inherit the kingdom of heaven.” It is a condition. It is a must for all of us to be able to enter His kingdom. Not for us to become or act like children, but to be childlike in attitude.
The Lord trusts and believes in man so much. Try to see and reflect. The child Jesus was born in a manger unguarded. If you were blessed with children, you were trusted by God to nurture your children. Mary gave birth to Jesus with no one beside her but her husband Joseph. He was just an ordinary carpenter. The Lord has given great confidence in man that He gave his only Son to be taken cared of by this carpenter. Not with the assistance of doctors nor the aid of medical equipment. Ask yourselves, if you would give birth to a child, whom would you like to be with? Your husband? A close relative? What are their occupations? An engineer or a salesman? How would they help you? Would they prepare screwdrivers or pliers to help deliver your baby? The Lord has trusted man so deeply that He allowed His Son to be born in a manger under the care of an ordinary carpenter. Remember this:
Reflection No. 1. The Lords trusts you so much, so in return, you should also trust Him.
A mother told me, “Father, I forgave my son for stealing money from me.” “How much did he steal?” I said. “P1,500.00,” she responded. “I have forgiven him though. But now, I have locked all, even my refrigerator and cabinets. Even my shoe boxes are now locked.”
You do not trust anymore! Bring back the trust. Remember, God has forgiven you. Who among you have sinned? Who among you have sinned and was forgiven? Did God remove anything from you? No. In everything, you were forgiven and was still trusted.
Reflection No. 2. Children are hyperactive, noisy and unorganized but are happy.
Who among you have children in your houses? I will describe your houses. “Kalat-kalat na laruan, tama, mali? Amoy ihi, amoy suka, lungad, tama, mali? Magulo ngunit masaya.”
I visited four sisters aging from 70 to 80, all single ladies. What do you think is the smell of their house? “Amoy lupa.” And wow, they move so slow and their house was very gloomy.
See? But a house with children is “maingay, magulo, mapanghi ngunit masaya.”
Reflection No. 3. You should come to God like children.
Why? What beautiful qualities do children have?
Number one, children are forgiving. They forgive easily. When children grab toys away from other children, they quarrel, but only for a moment. They make peace right away. They do not nurture resentments like adults. They just cry for a while and reconcile after. Just give them candy.
One quality of children God loves so much is that they trust easily. Because there are things in our lives wherein we need to trust God. There are things in our lives wherein we have to hold onto God.
When Mt. Mayon was spewing lava, I pity those people who are in the danger zone. Although they are accustomed to that, knowing the volcano has been dormant for so long, they moved to schools and evacuation centers in fear of an eruption. They want to live a decent life. They want to live longer… I told them to trust God even in case of a volcanic eruption.
I also said the same thing during typhoon Yolanda and Ondoy, I told them, let us trust God. Because I know, in every trial in life, there will always be people who will abandon God… If your husband lost his job, you will surely question God. Right or wrong? You’ll end up saying, “Why is this so, Lord? I even prayed for this?”
Brothers and sisters, believe me, God knows what He is doing… So like a child, I tell you, hold onto God…
Let us bow down our heads…
