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THE FIRST DAY
A scene taking place in many families this week is the first day of school, the very first day for a six-year-old. It is an exciting day, finally getting to go to school like the big kids! But it is a day not without a certain amount of anxiety and fear for the most enthusiastic first-grader: Will they let me go when I need to go to the bathroom? And what if I get lost on my way back to class? And what if my teacher decides she doesn't like me? And what if there are teams and nobody picks me to play? And what if I took off my sneakers, jeans, sweatshirt, and t-shirt, and started the first day of school on the second day?
CONNECTION:
We have all been that first grader--and not just on the first day of school. We often feel that we are on the outside looking in, removed from the mainstream, alienated from any sense of belonging. Out fear of disaster overwhelms us from realizing the possibilities for growth, for discovery, for good things to happen. Today's exhortation by Jesus is designed to help us create and maintain households of love and acceptance, communities of reconciliation and peace where even the smallest and youngest are able to contribute, and welcomed and honored as would Christ Himself. May every scared first grader, of whatever age, in whatever "school yard," find reassurance and support in the "homeroom" of our love and compassion.
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