The Kingdom of Heaven does not come as easily as we would like to believe. In our modern world we enjoy so many luxuries which at their root attempt to make our life easier. It has become a goal to simplify life as much as possible in order that work may be eliminated. To think for a moment of the concept of a genie. All that one has to do is rub a lamp and out pops a genie to grant you your heart's desire. You don't have to sacrifice for it, but you get it on the spot without the application of any work. We so often chase after the many luxuries of this world, but we fail to elevate our mind to our ultimate goal which should be the Kingdom of Heaven. If the Kingdom of Heaven is indeed our ultimate goal we in return should work for it by taking up the cross and coming to follow after Christ.
In our Gospel the apostles were still trying to figure things out for themselves. They were again reminded about the coming reality of the cross, but yet again they did not understand what was being revealed unto them. The apostles showed that they were still worldly minded because they were not concerned with the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven, but instead they were found concerned with who among them was to be the greatest. They desired to be elevated within their pride thus at the same time rejecting the cross that had been revealed to them. To accept the cross is to be made lowly instead of being exalted. To accept the cross is to work within the abundant Harvest of the Lord instead of remaining lazy as if everything has already been owed to us.
This child placed in their midst is a total rejection of this worldly attitude that has been made manifest. This child serves as a reminder of the poor and lowly who so often go unnoticed by the human eye. This child does not posses wealth nor authority. This child is in need of the loving care of a parent in order that they may be taken care of. This child symbolizes the same humility and lowering of self that is necessary for each of us. We are all in need of God's divine providence. We are all in need of the freedom that is found not in possessions, money, nor authority, but instead that which is found through God alone.
We spend so much of our time preparing not for the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven, but instead for the here and the now. We avoid the cross and thus at the same time we attempt to make this world into our paradise. Exempt from God and thus too the cross, our life will never be made perfect. We must learn to come to embrace the cross because the cross points the way towards Everlasting Life. In the world to come it will not matter how successful we were nor how highly exalted that we have been, but instead our relationship to Christ and His teachings will reign supreme. This world in which we live has set out with an atheistic attitude which attempts suppress God, but this suppression is an impossibility. We cannot give into the tides of our culture which attempt to banish God from the public square because at the same time we show that we do not serve God, but our pursuit for wordiness.
The Ancient Church grew like a massive fire set to a dry forest. Why? But because the apostles eventually understood what it was that Christ was demanding of them. When the gift of the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost they realized that they were called to go out as apostles and gather more souls to Christ. They realized that they would be persecuted on account of Him and yet they still went out to serve. From this action they, with the fervor of faith, came to embrace their own martyrdom. In return, we in this day and age, are called to be sent forth from here with this same fervor of faith. We are called not to exalt ourselves nor to give into the pursuit of worldliness. This will never lead souls to encounter Christ and His Church. Instead may we abandon all that ails us and in return finally take up our cross and allow it to lead us into a greater relationship with Christ and His Church. In this manner we prepare not for an earthly kingdom, but instead for the Kingdom of Heaven which will never pass away.
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