Invitation

At Mass on Sunday, I sat behind parents with a young girl, probably about 4 years old. Dressed in a cute skirt, sweater and boots, she kept herself busy munching goldfish crackers in a Ziploc baggie, looking around at people, while Mass prayers began.

Fr. Mike called little ones to the front of church, for them to go on their way to a special children’s liturgy, where 2 volunteers were ready to teach the little ones about the Gospel story of the day. About 30 children went forward, were blessed, and paraded down the aisle on their way to a classroom. The little girl in front of me remained seated next to her dad, however. I wondered why she didn’t join the others. Maybe she was timid or didn’t really know what to expect if she did go.

Michelle, one of the women leaders, brought up the end of the line, holding hands with two of the children. As she passed our pew, she turned with a big inviting smile and motioned to the little girl on the pew. “Do you want to come?” Hesitation. “Come on, if you want to!” With a happy decision, the little girl jumped up from her seat, and joined the end of the line. The adults nearby sighed “Awww…!”

I couldn’t stop smiling for quite a while. I thought about the call to follow Christ. We may feel comfortable in our zone of familiarity, observing the “outside.” It can take an invitation to get us to a deeper understanding of life. Without that invitation, we just sit.

When the time came for the children to return to Mass, the little girl came skipping up the aisle to her parents. She proudly showed them green shamrock beads, and gave them to her mother. Then, she reached down her sweater, and pulled out a decorative Easter egg! And another! And another! I thought of the Trinity. She put the eggs in her mother’s purse, took out the Ziploc and resumed eating crackers.

Toward the end of Mass, her father disappeared, then returned with 3 other children, who presumably finished their morning religion classes. Their little sister excitedly retrieved the 3 eggs from her mother’s purse, and distributed them to her siblings.

Again, I saw the lesson. This little one had just heard a Gospel story explained to her, and did related activities, from which came the eggs. She took 3 eggs for her 3 siblings – to share the good news with them! Two of her siblings gave the eggs back, but one kept his.

We receive the good news according to who we are, perhaps where we are in our faith journey. We can reject it, or keep it close to our hearts. We are called to be like this little girl, who answered the invitation to “Come, follow me!” We may be timid, not knowing what to expect, but when we learn of the love of Christ for us, we are called to share it. Some will reject it, but some who accept the gift will hold it close to their hearts and pass it on!