We often describe ourselves in this way. We “dare to call upon the heavenly God as Father”, and therefore we are his children.
As children, we have a lot to learn. As children, we often go astray, and we need correction. Just as with our own children, sometimes a “gentle word of correction” is insufficient to get our attention and to turn us around from the behavior that requires correction.
The Book of Proverbs is filled with instruction and ‘imagery’ related to this issue. And as is typical for Proverbs, some of the instruction is a combination of positive with negative. “The rod and rebuke give wisdom. But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.” (Prov 29:15) And some of the instruction is just reinforcing positives. “Correct your son and he will give you rest; yes, he will give delight to your soul.” (Prov 29:17)
Saint Paul also speaks in similar terms. “No chastening seems to be joyful in the moment, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Heb 12:11)
In today’s Gospel, Jesus enters the village of Nain, and there in His compassion for His creation, seeing a young man, the only son of his mother, laying dead and being buried, we can only imagine the empathy he feels for the mother. And so by His Word alone, He restores the young man’s life, and returns him to his mother.
What has this to do with “discipline”, or being God’s children?
If you read further in the 7th Chapter of Saint Luke, we find this incident being reported throughout Judea. It makes it to the ears of the imprisoned Saint John the Forerunner. In his own love for his “spiritual children”, his remaining followers, he sends them to Jesus with the question, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” Jesus answers their question by giving them the grace to witness His miracles. Only then does He say, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the Gospel preached to them.” Jesus gives this instruction as John had intended—not for John’s benefit, but for the benefit of John’s disciples. They are being “taught” by God the Son, brought along as “children” in their understanding.
Jesus then chastises the Pharisees, giving them every chance to repent before it’s too late. He says, “John came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come both eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look—a glutton and a winebibber… But wisdom is justified by all her children.”
Children. Yes, we need to be corrected, for we often follow the wrong path. But don’t forget Christ’s own praise of children. “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mat 19:14)
As we consider God’s gentle means of bringing our souls into conformance to His will, consider how Chapter 7 of Saint Luke ends. Here we find the woman anointing the Lord’s feet with oil, weeping, wiping His feet with her hair. As she does, Simon the Pharisee in his heart judges both her and the Lord for this act. For His part, Jesus explains to Simon the case of the creditor who forgives two unequal debts, one much greater than the other. Simon judges rightly that the one forgiven more will love the more. Jesus turns this on Simon, saying, “You gave me no water for My feet, no kiss, no anointing. Since I arrived, she has not ceased to kiss My feet, to wash them with her tears, to anoint Me with her fragrant oil. Therefore, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. To whom little is forgiven, these love little.”
For us, here is our lesson as children. Love much! Love God! Love the Church! Love neighbor! Love your enemy! Love those easy to love, and love even more those who are hardest to love.
For this is the example set for us by our Lord. It is an example that shows us the Love of God the Father for us, His children.
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