A sermon on Mark 10:13-16

By Fr. Mike Paraniuk
St. Mary Catholic Church
St. Benignus Catholic Church 
St. Mary Queen of Heaven
and Holy Trinity Catholic Church

I was privileged to witness medical history being made at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. 

The transplant doctors performed the first-ever partial liver transplant from a mother to her baby. 

Mom's liver was a perfect match. Without this transplant, the baby could not live. I became involved because the mother wanted a Catholic priest to pray over her and her baby before surgery. I was called to the Pre-Operative Prep room to give the blessing. 

The mother lay on a gurney, her eyes locked intensely upon her baby on a gurney close to her. Two nurses joined us. The room was filled with hope, tempered by anxiety this procedure could fail. Both mother and baby could be lost. 

Mom held her child's little hand gently in hers. She said, "Honey, Mommy is going to give you a big healthy liver. I gave you life once. Now, I'm giving you life again." 

She said to me, "Father, pray that after this transplant my daughter and I can go home to celebrate the best Christmas ever." 

I anointed both mom and baby. Before leaving the room, I quoted to her this Bible verse from Luke 8:50, “Do not fear; only believe..."

The scene of this mother holding her baby's hand reminded me of Michelangelo's fresco of "God Creating Adam," where God touches Adam with His Divine finger, calling him to life. 

The surgery lasted over 12 hours with two teams of doctors creating an historic moment offering hope to mothers their babies can live. This hope did not disappoint. Both mother and baby survived. The surgery was completely successful.

I remember seeing mom after the surgery. She was so happy. She said, "Father don't make me laugh. My side still hurts." She added, "I kept believing – just like Jesus said."

Jesus says in Mark 10:15, "I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” 

What does this mean?

Your faith in Jesus is based on two things: helplessness and dependence. The world says these are bad. In God's Kingdom, these are required to belong. All the people whom Jesus healed were helpless.

So many things in life can make you helpless. Things that are not under your control: a sudden unexpected illness, family problems, money concerns, and a myriad of other problems that make you say, "I don't know what to do." 

Accepting your helplessness is a good thing, because you realize you cannot fix this on your own. You don't have to struggle needlessly. 

My helplessness leads me to depend on someone who can help. That someone is God. 

Jesus said, "They ought always to pray and not lose heart." (Luke 18:1.) 

When I take my problems to Jesus, I have no reason to get discouraged. I feel His peace that comes from believing God can do for me what I can't do for myself. On this belief, many addicts have found sobriety for years. God says, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all." (Psalm 34:19.)

I wonder what that first Christmas was like for that mother who gave a "second birth" to her baby daughter. I can imagine mom thanking God as she held in her arms the greatest gift God could ever give. 

God calls you to rest in His arms as the child of God that you are. Merry Christmas Blessings to you every day of the year.