Expectations: Fulfilling Prophecies
The story of Jesus welcoming little children is probably one of the most endearing of the Gospel stories. There is something so tender and reassuring in the image of Jesus, the Son of God, gently embracing children that touches a part of us and yearns for the sense of peace those children must have experienced.But we might also ask ourselves today what that story of the little children has to do with all the talk of the differentiation of the sexes in Genesis, the laws on divorce in Mark, and the suffering of Christ in Hebrews.Perhaps a true story might help us focus on that meaning. There is, in educational circles, a phenomenon known as “The Pygmalion Principle.” This educational theory is based on a research study published in a book entitled Pygmalion in the Classroom.*The study in question involves an experiment conducted in the sixties in California. The teachers of one group were told that their students were just average in ability and performance. They were in fact gifted. The teachers of the other group were told that their students were academically talented and high achievers, when in fact they were average students.The results: the really gifted made average achievement; the average performed like gifted students. It's all about expectations! Our Sacred Stories today are all about expectations. God's expectation is that we not be alone and that we are God's children and Jesus' brothers and sisters! It's about God’s desire for human beings to be in relationship with others. And it is a truism that expectations of others determine what the relationship will be.God's expectation from the beginning is that we are not to be alone. We were meant to complement and empower one another through the very creative love we experience from our God. What is true in marriage is as true in all our relationships. What a far less contentious country, church, or world this would be if mutuality were the model followed.In the Letter to the Hebrews we are told that Jesus, the Son of God, is not ashamed to call us, mere humans, his brothers and sisters. Can we not, then, see all people, regardless of differences, as our brothers and sisters? If it were our brother or sister who was maimed by a road-side bomb in Iraq or Afghanistan, would we be indifferent? If it were our brother or sister who was gay, how would we react to the homophobia they experience? If it were our brother or sister living on the streets, what would be our response? Those kinds of questions frame the consistent challenge of the Scriptures.When we see the image of Jesus and the children, we are challenged to see the beauty of human relationships which sum up the underlying theme of all of today's readings. Can we remember what it was to love with the simple, unaffected love of a child? Can we remember the simple joy of being loved as a child? It isn't difficult to see what we need to work on in the days ahead. We need to begin to work earnestly at understanding the expectations of all our relationships the way Christ sees them. The Scriptures today tell us how in graphic stories: that no one should be alone; that we are brothers and sisters in Christ, and as such we are all children of a loving God. When we recall that beautiful image of Jesus and the little children, we should allow ourselves to reflect on the expectations the Scriptures offer us today. In our marriages, in our families, in our society, and, yes, even in our church, our relationships would be greatly enhanced by that reflection. That's Christ's only expectation of us. Should it not be our only expectation of one another?* The name of the study was based on the Greek myth of Pygmalion in which, by sheer force of will, a statue is brought to life. It is the same myth rendered by George Bernard Shaw into the play of thesame name and by Lerner and Lowe into My Fair Lady.