“Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” – Mark 10:14
The Scripture readings for this Sunday tie the creation story of man and woman found in the Book of Genesis to Jesus’ teaching about marriage in the Gospel of Mark. The Lord affirms that humans have been made in the very image of the Living God and that this is expressed through the complementarity of the male and female sexes. He explains that, through marriage, God unites a man and woman as “one flesh” in a bond that is not meant to be broken.
Perhaps it is no coincidence then that, immediately following this discussion of marriage, Jesus embraces a group of children and points to them as exemplar citizens of the kingdom of God. For, as it says in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “the institution of marriage and married love is ordered to the procreation and education of the offspring and it is in them that it finds its crowning glory” (#1652).
Unfortunately, these days too many couples see children as an inconvenience. As houses have become bigger, cars and boats more plentiful, families have become smaller and children less plentiful. Children are a gift, and God is never outdone in His generosity! So, while prudence is necessary for managing a family, “planning” one’s parenthood simply to pursue personal pleasures is not prudent; it’s selfish.
In addition to this prevailing “contraceptive mentality,” evils such as child trafficking and abortion reveal the ways in which children are treated as commodities in our culture. More often than not children are the ones who suffer most as a result of war and unjust economic situations. When society buys into a “survival of the fittest” philosophy, children are left by the wayside.
In contrast, here is what Jesus says about children: “the kingdom of God belongs to
such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it” (Mark 10:14-15). Until we learn to love children as God loves them, until we learn to trust as children do, we will never truly become the children of God that we were made to be.
Lord God, help us understand what it means to be your sons and daughters. Bring about a conversion of our hearts and of the culture, so that marriages may be strengthened and children protected by Your love. Amen.
