Have you told them they were chosen?

John the Baptist proclaims, God can raise up children to Abraham from these very stones.  Mt 3:9

Upon arriving, the angel said to her: “Rejoice, O highly favored daughter!  The Lord is with you.  Blessed are you among women.”  She was deeply troubled by his words, and wondered what his greeting meant.  The angel went on to say to her:  “Do not fear, Mary.  You have found favor with God.  You shall conceive and bear a son and give him the name Jesus.  Great will be his dignity and he will be called Son of the Most High.   Lk 1:28-32

“I solemnly assure you, history has not known a man born of a woman greater than John the Baptizer.  Yet the least born into the kingdom of God is greater than he.” Mt 11:11

 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leapt in her womb.  Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out in a loud voice: “Blest are you among women and blest is the fruit of your womb.  But who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”  Lk 1:41-43

I’m an avid fan of good children’s literature.  Though written through the eyes of children, I find a purity of heart and profound truthfulness in their stories.  Unfortunately, they become corrupted through life’s experiences.  Our excuses fog the clarity of goodness children experience, BUT we are encouraged by our Lord to forever foster the heart of a child as we are forever children of God.  We wander!!!  We wonder!!!

In a recent animated film, Moana, a female child journeys to a distant land in quest of restoring fish of the sea to nourish her island people.  Though special to her royal parents, young Moana is more of a utilitarian piece to her tribe than loved for who she is.  Intimidated to venture forward in life, she relies on the words of her grandmother reminding Moana that she was “chosen” regardless of the success or failure she might encounter.  To be chosen has far greater assurances beyond gifted or special.  It promises to freely give and to receive love unconditionally ….  Later, when Moana is alone, abandoned, failing, and prepared to surrender at life, Moana draws strength and hope from the radiant stingray rising from ocean’s darkness … the spirit of her dead grandmother’s words reinforcing that she is/was chosen!     

I find the nativity narratives in the gospels of Matthew and Luke to be much like quality stories of children’s literature graced with truth more so than facts.  The quotations above are read during the Sunday Masses in advent.  Mary was told she was blessed among women.  She was chosen … and not to fear.  She found favor with God.  Jesus, too, was chosen.  John the Baptist and Elizabeth (both also chosen) both recognized Jesus to be chosen verifying, confirming the greeting Mary received from an angel. And … God promised to love unconditionally!

Being special is very different than knowing you were chosen and that you belong.  Every child is a gift from God to be loved unconditionally.  Your child is chosen by you … and do your children know that?  Too many children and too many adults need to know they were chosen!

As a teacher, I encounter many broken young people.  (In the act of privacy, the facts have been changed, but the truth in the consequences and severity of loss to this individual have not been compromised or diminished.)  In school, two weeks before Christmas, a student was caught with marijuana in the morning and expelled.  Later that afternoon, after peers let him into the building, he was caught a second time and expelled again.  The case could be made favoring stupidity, but I heard a freshman screaming for help.  Suffering high anxieties, he failed to attend classes 80% of the time.  Upon inquiry, I was informed he was new to our community and school following his mother’s suicide on her return from military tour two years earlier.  A week prior to his drug infraction, his meth-addicted father attempted suicide.  When emergency personnel arrived, the fire marshal condemned the housing in which he and his siblings were living.  Due to age differences the siblings were placed into different housing facilities.  There is a question he desperately needs answered … a question he does not even know to ask … he is screaming and he doesn’t hear himself …  Have you chosen me?  Has anyone chosen me?

Across generations a grandfather reminds the chosen they are loved unconditionally ….

“When I held my grandson for the first time, I couldn’t find words to express everything I was feeling,” begins an excerpt of a letter composed by a grandfather to his daughter and son-in-law after the birth of their son who will require a lifetime of emotional and physical care.  “Yesterday, I felt your great joy over him, … but also your pain.  This joy and pain is ours, too.  Yes, it was a shock to see all the black marks on his little body, and only God knows what lies ahead for this courageous young fighter.  … I wish you the courage to stand by him when things get tough.  … I will remind him as he grows he has grandparents who have loved him from the start and will never stop loving and praying for him.  … his life will carry a meaning that is greater than the sum of his suffering … Wishing you God’s closeness, your Papa.”  -- Johann Christoph Arnold

Mary and Elizabeth were told they were chosen.  Their sons, too, were chosen and affirmed.  Despite the angel’s words, Mary and Elizabeth were not told their sons would experience rejection at home … wander through life’s deserts … fail in popularity … battle greed, power, temptation … undergo persecution … toss and turn in sleepless nights … encounter anger and hostility … battle social, economic, ethnic and racial injustices … struggle to understand … face world disharmony … experience hunger, thirst, pain and loss … question as to whether they belong …  and … God gave them strength, courage, support, and loved unconditionally!

We share much more in common with Mary and Elizabeth than we might think.

God the Father reminded Jesus His Son through the Spirit.  "You are my beloved Son.  On you my favor rests." Mk 1:11

We need to know … kids need to know they are loved unconditionally, they belong, they are chosen!  They need to be reminded … often.  They need to hear it, feel it, celebrate it!  We must act on it!

Have you told them they were chosen?