Let the children come!

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In today’s gospel Jesus returns to Judea which is Jewish territory and he resumes his public ministry teaching about the importance of family and God’s ideal for marriage. 

The crowds gathered around Jesus and he began to teach them, immediately the Pharisees approach Jesus to challenge him, they question him about the lawfulness of divorce by asking the question, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” In reply to the Pharisees Jesus declares that what the law allows is not actually what God wills.

God’s purpose for marriage, according to Jesus is to be found in the first chapters of Genesis which we read in the first reading today. Marriage is a relationship of mutuality and partnership between a man and a woman. Whereas the Pharisees ask Jesus about divorce, in his reply Jesus places the focus on marriage.

As the Pharisees would have known, the Jewish Law permitted a form of divorce. According to the Book of Deuteronomy a man could dismiss a woman from his house by issuing a bill of divorce but there was no provision for a woman to divorce her husband. It was a law which left women vulnerable. Jesus’ vision of marriage is of a profound union between a man and a woman, a communion of faithful love. 

It is no coincidence that immediately after this passage, Mark gives us a story about children (verse 13) “people were bringing little children to him, for him to touch them.”  Marriage between a man and a woman is a place where children can grow up to feel loved and to flourish in a safe and secure family environment. Society has an obligation to support family life financially and through professional services and resources.

We know from our own experience that not all marriages reflect the ideal which Jesus presents today in the gospel reading. Many marriages breakdown and do not last. But Jesus does not condemn those who fall short of his vision. All of us, married or single, are called to love one another as the Lord has loved us, and sometimes we all fail in our response to that call. It is in those moments of weakness and failure that we can find comfort in the second part of today’s gospel “anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will not enter it.” We stand before the Lord with a child-like heart, in our weakness and vulnerability, open and receptive to the great gift of Jesus’ love that is given to us unconditionally. It is that gift which empowers us to keep reaching towards the goal, the ideal which Jesus presents to us through the gospel.

A reading from the Gospel of Mark (Mk 10: 2-16)

The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked, “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?” They were testing him. He said to them in reply, “What did Moses command you?” They replied, “Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her.” But Jesus told them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this. He said to them,

“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” And people were bringing children to him 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 them and blessed them, placing his hands on them.

The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

  1. Read the Gospel story so that you are familiar with it.
  2. Reflect on what the Gospel story is saying to you. Which points would you highlight and why?
  3. As followers of Christ, our values and ideals are shaped by the message of Jesus in the gospels. The gospel message is demanding as well as consoling. Jesus calls on us to be as generous, as compassionate, as self-giving, as loving as he himself is, as God is. Jesus doesn’t leave us to our own resources in the living out of his values. He give us the gift of the Holy Spirit who helps us to live out the gospel message in our family life.
  4. Among the purposes of marriage is the raising of children, which is not always an easy task. By welcoming children and fostering their relationship with God, parents and families bear witness to the kingdom of God. Pray especially this week for families that, they may be supported by society and may flourish by committing to life-long relationship in the Sacrament of Marriage. Pray the Suscipe prayer of St. Ignatius.     
  5. During this coming week go to confession. Try and go together as a family.
  6. Together with your family find the right time to read this gospel. The environment helps, so before you start, prepare:
    i. The Bible reading from St Mark (Mk 10: 2-16)
    ii. A candle
    iii. Cover the table with a green clot
    iv. A computer/laptop with the reading and clips
  7. Go through the steps with your children (2 age groups are being suggested)
  8. Feel free to adapt to your situation
  9. Be creative 😊
  10. Go to the Prayer Corner section to continue praying as a family

One day Jesus was teaching the disciples outside and a large crowd of other people were also listening, some of them brought their children to Jesus so that he could bless them. The disciples didn’t like these children interrupting Jesus. They told the people to take the children away. But Jesus was upset and said, “Let the children come to me, do not stop them.”

  • Jesus loves all children
  • Families are important and we should listen to our parents who take care of us.
  • Children of the world mobile pattern
  • White craft card
  • Hole punch/ scissors
  • Coloured pencils/crayons
  • String
PrintoutDownload

People were bringing little children to Jesus so that he could bless them but the disciples told them to go away. When Jesus saw this he didn’t like it and he said to them “Let the little children come to me, do not stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Then Jesus took the children in His arms and blessed them.

Again we hear today how Jesus loves all children and welcomes them into His loving arms. He wants us all to follow Him and to trust in Him to take care of us, just like our parents take good care of us as we are growing up.

When you were a baby you could not do many of the things which you can do today and you depended on your parents to take care of you. Can you think of any of these things? As a baby you could not walk or talk or feed yourself, in fact babies rely on their families for just about everything! As a toddler there are still many things you can’t do yourself, such as reading or riding a bike but as we grow physically we develop new skills like writing and being able to tie our own shoelaces. Although we can do more things for ourselves we still depend on our parents and family to take care of us until we are older and become independent. So Jesus teaches us that our families are important, that we rely on each other and trust each other. Families are committed to each other and all members of the family are important even little children. It is important that as a family we pray together, go to mass together and that we trust and depend on God our heavenly father who loves us.

To remind you that Jesus loves all children you can make a ‘Children of the World Mobile’ and hang it in your bedroom. Print the mobile template and colour all the pieces. Stick them on card to make them stronger and cut them out. (You might need help in cutting around the shapes). Punch 5 holes in the mobile and tie pieces of string from the world to each of the children. It’s ready to hang up, you can do this whilst listening to the song; “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.”

Let’s tell Jesus that we trust and depend on Him. 

Sign of the cross.

Jesus, I believe in you,
Jesus, I hope in you,
Jesus, I love you,
Sacred Heart of Jesus I place my trust in you.
Amen

In today’s gospel, Jesus again uses children to explain His message.  Jesus scolds the disciples when they try to send the children away and says “Let the little children come to me, it is to children like these that the kingdom of God belongs.” Then he hugs them and blesses them.

  • Jesus loves and protects all children, he showed it through His actions and words.
  • God’s grace helps us to keep our promises.
  • Let the children come to me’ template
  • Craft card
  • Scissors/glue
  • Coloured pencils
PrintoutDownload

One day some people brought their children to Jesus so that he could bless them by placing his hands on them. Yet the disciples told the people to stop bothering Jesus. When Jesus saw this, he was annoyed and said, “Let the children come to me! Don’t try to stop them. People who are like these little children belong to the kingdom of God. I promise you that you cannot get into God’s kingdom unless you accept it the way a child does.” Then Jesus took the children in His arms and blessed them by placing His hands on them.

What are Jesus’ feelings about children? Do his actions show us that he thought children are important? Jesus wanted the children to come next to him and he hugged them and blessed them, just like we heard in the gospel reading two weeks ago. Jesus always has time for children, why do you think this is? Maybe it’s because children are very trusting of the person who is taking care of them. Think how much your parents do for you because they love you. Do you know what a promise is? It is a commitment to another person, for example, your parents might promise that you can watch a special TV programme. Maybe you promise to make your own bed or clear up your room or do your homework without complaining. Maybe you promise your friend to play a game with them at the weekend. Promises are very easy to make but they can also be broken very easily. Sometimes it is difficult to keep the promises which we have made to another person. Jesus teaches us that it is important to keep our promises to each other and that by following His example we can do that. To do this we must all be like children before God, trusting him completely and depending on His help which is given to us through the gift of grace by the Holy Spirit.  

Let us pray to the Holy Spirit to help us to honour our commitments and to keep our promises to each other.

Sign of the Cross

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth. Amen

So that you don’t forget what Jesus said in today’s gospel you might like to do this Bible craft.

Print the template, colour the world and the hands. Cut them out carefully and glue them onto the card with the world in the centre and the hands around the world so that it reads “Let the children come to me” you can also listen to the song: ‘Promises’

Coming soon.

How to use this space

God speaks to us in many ways, including through the Sunday Scripture readings. Here you will find useful background and activities to better understand the upcoming Sunday's Scripture readings, helping you to connect the Scripture to daily life in a meaningful way.