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| For a background on this painting by Joey Velasco, click here: |
People were bringing their little children to Jesus that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them: “Let the children come to me. Do not prevent them, for 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.”
Then he embraced the children and blessed them, placing his hands on them.
*Nil Guillemette, SJ, A Kingdom for All (Manila: St. Paul Publications, 1988), pp. 77-79.
Gospel Trivia:
I consider this passage as one of my personal favorites, not for its reference to the feast of Sto. Nino, but because of its powerful message if we accurately understand how "children" were perceived during biblical times.
I consider this passage as one of my personal favorites, not for its reference to the feast of Sto. Nino, but because of its powerful message if we accurately understand how "children" were perceived during biblical times.
"Children" - Children played a mixed role in Jewish as well as Greek-Roman tradition. (Biblical times were a mix of Jewish culture with influence from Greek and Roman.) Among the Jews, children were regarded as a divine gift, a source of great joy, and sign of God's blessings. But children were also considered as "ignorant, capricious and in need of strict discipline." (Take note: ignorant, not innocent.)
The Greek-Roman culture looked at children as loved by parents and considered indispensable by the state for economic, cultural and military purposes. At the same time they were also viewed as "fundamentally deficient, not yet human in the full sense, and mentally deficient who spoke nonsense."*
Why then would Jesus use children as an analogy to communicate greatness in the kingdom? To show that it is precisely the helplessness of humble children (not their innocence or "cuteness" which are often the misinterpretations of this passage) that is the prerequisite in experiencing the Kingdom of God. Adults often lean on their own skills and capability. But a helpless child, totally dependent on others, will always see God's power, plan and providence in all things.
It is for this reason that I chose Joey Velasco's painting of "Hapag ng Pag-asa" (Table of Hope), which depicts Jesus's last supper with streetchildren, as a more appropriate image for the Feast of Sto. Nino.
It is for this reason that I chose Joey Velasco's painting of "Hapag ng Pag-asa" (Table of Hope), which depicts Jesus's last supper with streetchildren, as a more appropriate image for the Feast of Sto. Nino.
Mark's message of "whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it" means that we acknowledge it as completely underserved and without merits. God reaching out to us by becoming human like one of us is God's initiative done out of love. The Pharisees thought otherwise; they believed that the kingdom can be earned through their pious works and obedience of the laws. Not so, says Jesus.
During this visit of Pope Francis, it would be worthwhile to reflect on His Holiness' emphasis on the role of the poor in understanding the message of Jesus. We receive the Kingdom of God like the poor -- as God's grace -- and the rich should dispel any notion that donations or good works could ever merit it.
References:
* Judith M. Gundry-Volf, "The Least and the Greatest: Children in the New Testament", in The Child in Christian Thought, ed. Bunge (Michigan/Cambridge: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001), 34-36.
**Raymond E. Brown et al (eds), The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1990), 191-192.
*Nil Guillemette, SJ, A Kingdom for All (Manila: St. Paul Publications, 1988), pp. 77-79.
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