In 2002, I visited Rome and have many beautiful memories of my visit. One memory I will always treasure was of a toddler.
He was running all by himself in St. Peter’s Square, chasing pigeons, or so I thought at the time. I was shocked when I saw him and wondered how it was possible for a toddler to be all by himself in such a mammoth crowd. After a while and to my relief, he made a beeline for the waiting arms of a smiling woman, apparently his mother. Then began a pattern of running off chasing pigeons and running back to his mother. He could explore the square and chase the pigeons without any fear or anxiety because he knew that his mother was watching over him and that she would be there waiting for his return.
The Bible passage above addresses the attitude we need to become true disciples of Jesus. We need to trust God, like the toddler who trusted his mother, to the extent that we can strip ourselves of all our resources.
Mark tells us that Jesus commissioned the twelve to manifest God’s kingdom in their preaching, healing and exorcism. To facilitate trust, they were to rid themselves of any possession. It is interesting that they were allowed to carry a staff. Some people believe it was meant to ward off wild animals. But I think like Moses’ staff, which was the instrument of many miracles (Exodus 4:2), the staff was meant to symbolize God’s providence in their ministry. When we strip ourselves of our resources and do not get in the way, God comes into our lives to do extraordinary deeds. Our profession does not matter. What matters is that when we allow God to work through us, he does truly remarkable things.
Charles de Foucault is the author of the Surrender Prayer. It is a profound but challenging prayer. He was not always a spiritual person. What moved him from a life of debauchery to becoming a hermit in the Algerian desert, where he was martyred? He discovered divine providence. He states in one of his writings:
“The moment I realized God existed, I knew that I could not do otherwise than to live for him Alone…. Faith strips the mask from the world and renders meaningless such words as anxiety, danger and fear, so the believer goes through life calmly and peacefully, with profound joy – like a child, hand and hand with his mother.”
The toddler in St. Peter’s Square was hand in hand with his mother. His mother did not only exist as a concept. She is a real person, worthy of his trust. This realization gave him the freedom to explore the square free of fear and anxiety. Unlike the toddler, we are daily dealing with more than a crowded square and pigeons. Yet God is greater than any life’s circumstance.
