August 16, 2025

Matthew 19:13-15

In this passage, people were bringing children to Jesus so that he could lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples tried to tell them not to, but Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” After he placed his hands on them, he went away.

Jesus was not focused on the people that society considered important, well educated, authoritative, upper level. He spent his time with the poor, the outcasts, the vulnerable – people who did not think themselves important and who therefore had their hearts more open. So too, the children, while cherished, were considered by society to be lesser, lower, because their job was to learn from their elders.  But as usual Jesus turned that logic on its head by telling the disciples that the kingdom of heaven belongs to “such as these,” the children, who are open, curious, vulnerable.

How do we as a society care for children now in our time?  As a society, a community, a family – do we prioritize care for the children, who are the future of this society and this planet? Some segments of society bend their knee to powerful authority figures, at the expense of children and families.  Men in suits and ties who have more important things to do than think about the children, the children to whom the kingdom of heaven belongs!  Woe to the oppressors!