23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
(Luke 14:25-33 Parents, the Gospel for this Sunday deals with the cost of discipleship. This is not an aspect of the 3-6 year old's spiritual life. They are at a stage of development characterized by wonder and awe, and enjoyment of relationship with God. They are falling in love with the One who made them, the One who knows them, the One who is always with them. They are not yet at the moral stage of choosing to belong; they just know that they do. And we should step back and let them enjoy that! My reflection for the 3-6 year olds therefore centres around the 1st reading from the Hebrew Testament.)
We know: Jesus is risen from the dead, never to die again.
We know: He spent time with his disciples, after the Resurrection. They ate and drank and listened to him.
We know: He told them that he would return to God his Father and promised not to leave them alone -- he would give them a helper.
We know: On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to the disciples, bringing many gifts. Many people were baptized that day, and they received the Holy Spirit, too.
We know: We were baptized, and we also received the Holy Spirit!
We wonder sometimes about the gifts that the Holy Spirit brings. The speaker in the reading today is also wondering about some of these gifts.
The Gift of Counsel
Who can learn the counsel of God?
Counsel is the gift of making right choices with God's help. The person asks, who can learn counsel? We know that the sheep of the Good Shepherd listen to his voice and they follow him. They stay so close to him! This is the gift of counsel. The speaker in the reading knows that only those who receive the Holy Spirit from God can have the gift of counsel. How good that we have been baptized and have received that gift!
The Gift of Wisdom
Or who can discern what the Lord wills?
The speaker wants to know, who sees things the way God sees them? We are small, how can we possibly know how God thinks? We can't, unless we have been given wisdom. It is the Holy Spirit who brings that wisdom -- the gift of seeing life the way God sees life.
The Gift of Knowledge
We can hardly guess at what is on earth... but who has traced out what is in the heavens?
There are things that only God knows. When we know something that only God could have told us, that is the gift of knowledge.
So many gifts the Holy Spirit brings! And there are many more! You have received the Holy Spirit, and you can ask to have the gift you most need right now. What will you ask for?
