Jesus and the Little Children

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

In today's Gospel, we are told that the apostles "rebuked them." Because the children are being brought to Jesus by others, we can presume that the apostles rebuked those who were bringing the children rather than the children themselves. However, Jesus seems to by-pass those "agents" and speaks directly to the issue of letting the little children come to him. If you read my reflections on the Gospel for last Tuesday, you will remember that children were not accorded the same care and concern in this culture as they are in ours. So Jesus once again seems to go beyond the limits that would ordinarily be placed upon people in this culture.

Why are the people bringing the children to Jesus? The Gospel does not state their mission specifically. However, in other places in the Gospel, people are brought to Jesus because they are in need of healing. Perhaps this is the intent of these people as well. Children were particularly vulnerable to disease and illness in this culture and society. However, the text does not give us any indication that this was the case; so it is just conjecture.

Of one thing we can be certain. Jesus states that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to "such as these." It is interesting to note that followers of Jesus called themselves the "little ones" for some time after the Ascension until the name "Christian" was born in Antioch. It is important to remember this as we read the Gospels and the various letters of the Christian Scriptures.

Jesus' enjoinder about the children reminds us once again of that most prominent theme that runs throughout the Gospels; namely, the first will become last, the weak will become strong, the wise will become foolish, and vice versa.