“Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones
the mysteries of the Kingdom.”—Matthew 11:25
 
    After many years in the classroom as a teacher, I have grown to understand and appreciate the difference between childish (immature) and childlike (innocent and trusting). In today’s gospel Jesus is bursting with praise for the childlike and trusting. God has revealed to people of all ages the ways of respect, understanding, patience, and love. Adhering to every minute detail of the law is not what God is asking of us. Jesus is not condemning intellectual power, but intellectual pride.  We are invited to a broader acceptance and respect for all people.
 
    Many centuries ago, Isaiah lamented the lack of respect and goodness among the people. Disrespect, violence, and hate have woven themselves throughout society then, as well as now. Just yesterday I was reminded of this reality when the old threads of my skirt hem unraveled and fell apart. I chose to sew the hem with a new strong thread to hold the garment tightly. The threads of disrespect, hate, and violence have woven themselves into our society. They need to be discarded and replaced with the threads of reverence for each other. Jesus defines this reverence in people as “childlike.”
 
    Always when we need to solve problems, we observe Jesus and follow his way. Jesus notices people who are emotionally, mentally, and physically ill. He sees them. He helps them. We and our neighbors may have many of the same problems. We may not have the power to cure them. Through grace, though,  we do have the power to heal with our respect for others.
 
    Like Jesus, another advocate for the childlike in all of us was Mr. Fred Rogers. As a follower of Jesus, he also encouraged us to go within ourselves to find those gifts that contribute to reverencing those around us.
 
    The purpose of life is to listen—to yourself, to your neighbor, to your world and to God and, when the time comes, to respond in as helpful a way as you can find…from within and without.
 
    It’s very dramatic when two people come together to work something out. It’s easy to take a gun and annihilate your opposition, but what is really exciting to me is to see people with differing views come together and finally respect each other.
- The World According to Mister Rogers