God, Protector of Little Ones

Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflecting on the Word

By Dr. Karla J. Bellinger

It was 5:30 a.m. I went out the back door for a walk. My mind  had things to think about. Some people have streetlights and  sidewalks. I have woods. It was dark—really dark. I’d walked that  path a thousand times. But it was so black. Suddenly, a loud primal  “Whaaaaa!” sounded a few feet from me. I looked into the dark.  What was that? I could see nothing. I turned and shakily walked  back to the house. 

Have you ever heard a deer hiss? When you come between a  mother deer and her fawn in the night, that gentle mama becomes  a raging protector. The noise she makes is terrifying. 

Have you ever heard Jesus hiss? In today’s reading, we may  dismiss what Jesus has to say as hyperbole, an overstatement for the  sake of making his point. But gentle Jesus can also become a raging  protector when his little ones are threatened. Don’t you dare lead  one of these little ones astray! “It would be better for you if a great  millstone were put around your neck and you were thrown into the  sea.” Whoa. 

Young people have shared stories with me: a ninth grader date raped by a senior football player; a sixteen-year-old abused in his  youth group; a child molested by a trusted family friend. Rage  rises within me. I want to hiss “Whaaaaa!” like that deer. That  mistreatment affects them for years. They don’t get over it. How  dare someone treat these little ones that way? 

Gentle Jesus isn’t exaggerating. He means it. To his disciples and to  us, he gives a loud primal “Whaaaaa!” Unquenchable fire! Thrown  into Gehenna! Where the worm does not die! Don’t you dare cause  one of these little ones to stumble. Cut off your hand. Pluck your  eye out. Whatever you have to do, do it. Do not hurt my little ones! 

Consider/Discuss 

  • A father feels a surge of protectiveness for his pink and wrinkled newborn.  The mother of a toddler flies into a rage when she thinks another child will  hurt her daughter. A teacher keeps her students close when they are on a  field trip. A mother bear will attack a hiker who gets close to her cubs. If  these are our God-given instincts to protect the helpless, does the Creator  also feel a protective rage over the mistreatments? Do we dare mess with  God’s righteous indignation? Might a “hiss” from Jesus make us more  careful about how we behave? 
  • That surge of protectiveness—have you felt it rise within you? Sometimes  it is a healthy and necessary thing. Sometimes it can hinder or damage  relationships. How do we discern the difference? 

Living and Praying with the Word 

Lord, only you are righteous and good. Thank you for the  protective instincts that spur us to keep those we love safe. You ask  us to watch over your children, for they are precious to you. But at  the same time, you detect failings that we hide or cannot see. Do not  let our instincts of protectiveness go wrong, keeping outsiders out,  becoming tribal, keeping others from partaking of your bounty. You  detest any evil in us. Root out our unknown faults. Chop off all that  is not of you so that we follow you more purely.

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