The Incarnation and the Exultation: An Advent Devotional - Tuesday, First Week of Advent
To the Ends of the Earth: Action – Week 3, Day 1 – We Often Complicate What is Very Simple and Fail to Act in God's Way
Photo by Chayene Rafaela on Unsplash
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.”
Matthew 18:1–5
Our nature as men is to want to be in control of our lives. We strive to be the best at all we do, to be knowledgeable about everything, to be masters of our worlds. But in the process of striving to be the best of the best, we often complicate many areas of our lives that in reality are very simple. This also applies to what we believe. Granted, it is important to understand our Catholic Faith and the teachings of the Church as clearly as possible. However, if we are not careful, our pride and self-importance may cause us to focus so much on the particulars of our religion that we stumble over the simplest doctrines of our faith and fail to act for the Kingdom of God.
The wonder and beauty of Christianity is that Jesus has revealed himself to us in a way any child could grasp. Nicodemus, the great teacher of his day, misunderstood the meaning of the phrase gennatha anothen (or its Aramaic equivalent) from John 3:3. He believed it to mean “born again,” when Jesus meant “born from above.” Nicodemus tried to complicate a matter that was simple, and it kept him from drawing nearer to Christ. Jesus was telling him that the real birth of salvation comes from heaven. It is something utterly mysterious, yet it is as simple as the faith of a child. Jesus came to call all people to approach him with childlike innocence and perfect trust. Only then can we grasp the beautiful realities of our faith with our hearts and share them with others in loving and practical ways.
Questions for Reflection
In what ways do you tend to make your Catholic Faith more complicated than it needs to be?
Are there areas of Catholic teaching that you struggle to understand or accept? What are they?
What prevents you from responding to God’s invitation with childlike faith? Do you want to have the faith of a child, or do you struggle with this concept?
Praying with Scripture
“Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the Kingdom of God.” (Mk 10:14b).
You can learn more about the To the Ends of the Earth Series HERE
You can watch and listen to this devotion HERE
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About the Author
Mark C. McCann is an author and Ministry Consultant with more than 30 years of writing and ministry experience. He has published articles for a number of Catholic magazines and websites including St. Anthony Messenger, Emmanuel Magazine, Liguorian Magazine, Catholic Stand, the Connecticut Catholic Men's Conference, and Homiletic and Pastoral Review. He recently published the 4-volume Catholic men's devotional, To the Ends of the Earth, as well as the 2021 Advent Daybreaks devotional and 2022 Lenten Daybreaks devotional with Liguori Publishing. He has also released his End Times novel series, Jacob's Dream: The Vision and Jacob's Dream: The Final Battle. He was a radio host and producer for 8 years at a Connecticut Christian radio station and has worked as a Catholic religion teacher/campus minister and a parish youth minister. He has also served the Norwich, CT Diocese as a Youth Ministry Director and Family Life Director. He currently lives in Connecticut with his Proverbs 31 wife, where together they have brought up three incredible children. He strives each day to live out his call to be a man of words. You can learn more about Mark and his writing at www.wordsnvisions.com.
