Based on Mk 10:13-16 (Gospel), Ep.
1:3-6, 15-18 (2ndRdng), and Is.9:1-6 (1stRdng)
From the Series “Reflections and
Teaching from the Desert’
“Let the little children come to me” -
Mk. 10:14
There are two accounts regarding
the incident of Jesus with the children. One is this present gospel narrative
from Mk. 10:13-16. This narrative has a parallel with Mt. 19:13-15and Lk. 18:15-17. Do these three parallels regarding
the first account of the incident agree? Let us see the following comparison:
In Mk. 10:13-16 (our present gospel), it says: “People were bringing little children to him,
for him to touch them. The disciples turned them away. But when Jesus saw this
he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not
stop them; for to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. I tell you
solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child
will never enter it.’ Then he put his arms round them, laid his hands on them
and gave them his blessing.”
In Mt. 19:13-15 it also says: “People brought little children to him, for
him to lay his hands on them and say a prayer. The disciples turned them away,
but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children alone, and do not stop them coming to
me; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs’. Then he
laid his hands on them and went on his way.”
In Lk. 18:15-17, it also
says: “People even brought little children to him, for him to touch them; but
when the disciples saw this they turned them away. But Jesus called the
children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop
them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. I tell you
solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child
will never enter it.’”
In a diagram form, this comparison
looks this way:
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TEXT
|
INTRODUCTION
|
BODY
|
CONCLUSION
|
|
Mk. 10:13-16
|
People were bringing little children to him, for
him to touch them. The disciples turned them away.
|
But when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said
to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for to such
as these that the kingdom of God belongs. I tell you solemnly, anyone who
does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’
|
Then he put his arms round them, laid his hands
on them and gave them his blessing.
|
|
Mt. 19:13-15
|
People brought little children to him, for him to
lay his hands on them and say a prayer. The disciples turned them away.
|
But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children alone,
and do not stop them coming to me; for it is to such as these that the
kingdom of heaven belongs’.
|
Then he laid his hands on them and went on his
way.
|
|
Lk. 18:15-17
|
People even brought little children to him, for
him to touch them; but when the disciples saw this they turned them away.
|
But Jesus called the children to him and said,
‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such
as these that the kingdom of God belongs. I tell you solemnly, anyone who
does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’
|
|
Except for some minor details that
are present in one and none in the other two, the three narratives are
basically the same in the introduction and body.However, it is only Luke’s account
that omitsa concluding remark.
The
second account regarding the incident of
Jesus with the children is the one reported in Mt. 18:1-7,10 which says: “At this time the disciples came to Jesus and
said, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ So he called a little
child to him and set the child in front of them. Then he said, ‘I tell you
solemnly, unless you change and become like little children you will never
enter the kingdom of heaven. And so, the one who makes himself as this little
child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Anyone who welcomes a little
child likethisa in my name welcomes me. But anyone who is an
obstacle to bring down one of these little ones who have faith in me would be
better drowned in the depths of the sea with a great millstone round his neck.
Alas for the world that there should be such obstacles! Obstacles indeed there
must be, but alas for the man who provides them! See that you never despise any
of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven are
continually in the presence of my Father in heaven.’”
This narrative has also a parallel
with Mk. 9:33-37 and Lk. 9:46-48. Let us also see if these three parallels
concerning the second account of the incident of Jesus with the children agree.
In Mk. 9:33-37 it says: “They
came to Capernaum and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you
arguing about on the road?’ They said nothing because they had been arguing
which of them was the greatest. So he sat down, called the Twelve to him and
said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and
servant of all’. He then took a little child, set him in front of them, put his
arms round him and said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes one of these little
children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not me
but the one who sent me’.
In Lk. 9:46-48, it says: “An argument started between them about
which of them was the greatest. Jesus knew what thoughts were going through
their minds, and he took a little child and set him by his side, and then said
to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and
anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For the least among you
all, that is the one who is great.’”
In diagram form, let us also see
the comparison between the parallels of the second account:
|
TEXT
|
INTRODUCTION
|
BODY
|
CONCLUSION
|
|
Mt. 18:1-7,10
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At this time the disciples came to Jesus and
said, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’
|
So he called a little child to him and set the
child in front of them. Then he said, ‘I tell you solemnly, unless you change
and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
And so, the one who makes himself as this little child is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven. Anyone who welcomes a little child like this in my name
welcomes me. But anyone who is an obstacle to bring down one of these little
ones who have faith in me would be better drowned in the depths of the sea
with a great millstone round his neck. Alas for the world that there should
be such obstacles! Obstacles indeed there must be, but alas for the man who
provides them! See that you never despise any of these little ones, for I
tell you that their angels in heaven are continually in the presence of my
Father in heaven.’
|
|
|
Mk. 9:33-37
|
They came to Capernaum and when he was in the
house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ They said
nothing because they had been arguing which of them was the greatest.
|
So he sat down, called the Twelve to him and
said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and
servant of all’. He then took a little child, set him in front of them, put
his arms round him and said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes one of these little
children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not me
but the one who sent me’.
|
|
|
Lk. 9:46-48
|
An argument started between them about which of
them was the greatest. Jesus knew what thoughts were going through their
minds.
|
And he took a little child and set him by his
side, and then said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes this little child in my
name welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
For the least among you all, that is the one who is great.
|
|
Comparing the two accounts
regarding the incidentof Jesus with the children, the first one is about the
children being brought by their parents to Jesus for him to bless them and lay
his hands on their heads. But the disciples tried to put away these children
from coming to Jesus. So, Jesus was indignant and rebuked his disciples this
way: “Let the little children come to me;
do not stop them; for to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. I tell
you solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little
child will never enter it.”
The point of the first account is
that, “Anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will
never enter it.” The emphasis here is in
accepting the invitation to enter the kingdom of God in the character of a
little child. To emphasize this point, footnote a of Mt. 18:5-7 says: “That is
to say, one who through the virtue of simplicity becomes a child again, cf. Mt.
18: 4”.
The second account regarding the incident
of Jesus with the children was about the argument among the twelve disciples
which among them is the greatest, to which Jesus reacted by saying this: “‘If anyone wants to be first, he must make
himself last of all and servant of all’. He then took a little child, set
him in front of them, put his arms round him and said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes one of these little
children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not me
but the one who sent me. For the least among you all, that is the one who is
great.’”.
The point of the second account is
that, “Anyone who welcomes one of these little
children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not me
but the one who sent me”. The point
here is about welcoming Jesus Christ and the Father whom they welcomewhen the
disciples welcome the little ones in Jesus’ name.
The commonality of their theme
rests in the importance of little children, especially their character of
simplicity, whether in accepting the message about the kingdom of heaven or in
accepting the person of Jesus Christ, who is himself the messenger and apostle
of the kingdom of heaven (cf. Heb. 3:1). This is the reason why, the present
gospel is being used for the feast of the Santo Nino because of this
commonality in the theme.
The message of the first reading supports
this theme of the Santo Nino because it is about the birth of the messiah (Is.9:5).
Finally, the second reading brings
us to focus on our own becoming adopted children of God (Ep. 1:5).
What is the connection of the
message of this feast of the Santo Nino to the Reflection and Teachings of the
Desert”? Simplicity of a child as the character necessary to enter the kingdom
of God and our own adoption as children of God.
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