Child Care
How were you treated by your parents?
Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him! “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.” - Matthew 7:7–12
When I read today's Gospel reading, I immediately thought of those parents who do treat their children poorly, who might hand a snake when asked for a fish or a stone for bread.
They do exist. Perhaps they existed then as well, and the disciples knew it. So, when Jesus asked who among them would treat a child that way, it might have made them think twice.
The way Jesus phrases the questions gives the disciples a chance to examine their own behavior.
Could I be so evil?
The whole point is that God is not like that. Our Father in heaven is not like us. He acts out of love for us and not out of self-desire or with malice.
Jesus is appealing to those of us who want to be good parents, who love our children and would do anything for them. That is the example he is putting before us, and he expects us to treat each other the way we would treat our children.
Now if we look around and see how people treat one another, we might get the impression they were all treated poorly by their parents, based on their behavior. And I think that is the point.
Maybe, this Lent, we can try to be more like God and treat each other just a bit better.
More to come...