In the infinitely small

Guess what is the favorite amusement of our grandchildren on the coast of Pas-de-Calais? No, it’s not going mussel fishing! It is to collect pebbles with the strangest shapes and colors. ” Which do you prefer ? “Gabriel told me the last time, showing me the basket of his harvest. “But why do you choose the smallest pebble? “, he was surprised, a bit annoyed.

I could have quoted him the popular adage: “Everything small is cute, everything big is charming. But his surprise made me think more of the gospel. Jesus always compares his Kingdom to something infinitely small: a pearl, a coin, a mustard seed. This consecration of smallness is the cause of many misunderstandings and misunderstandings. Because we persist in associating the divine with greatness, the good Lord with majesty. And this, despite the lowering of the Crib, the effacement at Nazareth and the annihilation at Calvary! The humility of Christ still does not surprise us enough. The genius of Christianity still eludes us. We remain, at bottom, pagans fond of Hollywood peplums and solemn pomp.

This is the time of Pentecost of which the Church is the continuation. Thinking of my grandson’s astonishment on the beach, I would like the Spirit to convert me for good to the infinitely small. I would like to be changed into a scout for the infinitesimal, the miniscule. Become a very small Vermeer captivated by a crumb of bread, the thin thread of a lacemaker. A humble and dogged hunter of the smallest, but most precious pearl. Because it is by starting from the infinitely small that we reach the infinitely large. “If anyone is small, let him come to me” (Pr 9,4). I believe it. I want to believe it. So, come Holy Spirit, Come!

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