Saturday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s Gospel, Jesus’ disciples rebuked the children for coming to Jesus. Consequently, Jesus gets angry at his disciples and tells them that they must be like children in order to enter the Kingdom of God. To our modern understanding, this might not make much sense. What message does this Gospel have for us today?
The Gospels are full of reversals, such as the blind see, the deaf hear, storms are calmed by a command, the dead become alive, the sick are healed, the rich go hungry, the powerful no longer have power, etc. This passage is no exception. Children are dependent on their parents for their needs. Unlike the young man after this Gospel passage, children do not own property or money and are not attached to them. Unless they are taught to be fearful, children are trusting and not afraid of the world. Through them, Jesus is saying that we are to learn from the vulnerable rather than the powerful. God will provide for our needs and we are to receive the Kingdom of God with an open and trusting heart that is detached from worldly desires and distractions.
In addition, in Jesus’ time, children were not seen as valuable since they did not contribute much to society besides their perceived potential as adults. They were the lowest social class. By embracing the children, Jesus taught his disciples that they were to accept everyone. Every person has a place in the Kingdom of God. As his disciples who are called to bring God’s Reign on earth, Jesus also teaches us that same lesson through this reading. We can reflect on how we can be more inclusive of others and the times we excluded others.
May our hearts be open to what God is calling us to do.
—Sr. Emily Sandoval, FMI