Sermon: Pentecost XIX - Childlike, not Childish, by Rev. Philip Eldracher
Oct 4, 2026 · 15 min · 4 segments
Given on the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, 2026.
Oct 4, 2026 · 15 min · 4 segments
Given on the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, 2026.
What, therefore, are those childlike qualities which we must possess in order to enter the kingdom of heaven? We have a beautiful model of these qualities, these virtues, in the life of the great saint whose Octave we celebrate.
The first of the childlike virtues which we must possess is simplicity.
This is something which little children have, we might say, naturally.
They have no ulterior motive.
They are not troubled by human respect or concern what other people will think of them.
To have simplicity is to strip away all other motives and to do all things simply because we love God.
The second of these childlike virtues is charity.
The love of a child is entirely selfless.
There is no notion of self-interest in the love of a child.
A child loves because its parents are good to it.
It responds with a simple love in return.
The next of the childlike virtues which we must possess is purity and innocence.
A little child does not so much as understand that there is such a thing as impurity.
The innocence of a child is precious and beautiful.
It is perhaps even unconscious, but it must be preserved nonetheless.
Over the course of time Ours must instead become a conscious innocence, a triumphant innocence over temptation, a refusal to stain our soul with the wickedness of sin.
The next, and we might say the last, in particular of the childlike virtues which we must have, is humility.
And in this in particular, we ought to imitate the great Saint Therese, who saw herself always as a little child in the eyes of God.
She had no delusions of grandeur, no great aspirations.
What, therefore, are those childlike qualities which we must possess in order to enter the kingdom of heaven? We have a beautiful model of these qualities, these virtues, in the life of the great saint whose Octave we celebrate.
The first of the childlike virtues which we must possess is simplicity.
This is something which little children have, we might say, naturally.
They have no ulterior motive.
They are not troubled by human respect or concern what other people will think of them.
To have simplicity is to strip away all other motives and to do all things simply because we love God.
The second of these childlike virtues is charity.
The love of a child is entirely selfless.
There is no notion of self-interest in the love of a child.
A child loves because its parents are good to it.
It responds with a simple love in return.
The next of the childlike virtues which we must possess is purity and innocence.
A little child does not so much as understand that there is such a thing as impurity.
The innocence of a child is precious and beautiful.
It is perhaps even unconscious, but it must be preserved nonetheless.
Over the course of time Ours must instead become a conscious innocence, a triumphant innocence over temptation, a refusal to stain our soul with the wickedness of sin.
The next, and we might say the last, in particular of the childlike virtues which we must have, is humility.
And in this in particular, we ought to imitate the great Saint Therese, who saw herself always as a little child in the eyes of God.
She had no delusions of grandeur, no great aspirations.
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