Today, once more, the Gospel reveals God’s heart to us. It demonstrates the emotional reaction of the Father in Heaven, in relation to his children. His most impassionate concern is for the small ones, those who nobody ever pays any attention to; those who do not attain whatever the rest of the world does. We already know that the Father, as the good Father He is, has a preference for the small children. But today we can recognize another wish of the Father that becomes compulsory for us: “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3).

We, therefore, realize that what the Father values the most is not so much “being small”, as “becoming lowly”. “Whoever becomes humble… is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:4). This is why we can see our responsibility in this action of becoming lowly. It is not a matter of having been created small or simple, limited or more or less capable, but of not becoming proud, and remaining humble and simple. The actual importance of each one of us consists in resembling one of those small ones Jesus introduces us to.

Last but not least, the Gospel teaches us today another lesson. There are some “small ones”, closer to us than we may think, that we may have forsaken. Those that are like sheep gone astray; the Father looks for them and, when He finds them, He is more pleased because they come back home and do not go astray any more. Perhaps, if we try to look at those surrounding us more as sheep sought and found by the Father, than just sheep gone astray, we could also see more frequently and intensely God's face. St. Asterius of Amasea tells us: “The parable of the lost sheep and the shepherd teaches us that we must not rashly distrust men, nor lose heart when helping those who are at risk.”