dirty faces

Saturday October 10^th, Mark 10: ¹³People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." ¹⁶And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. I can usually be seen grabbing the first baby that comes along after church and holding her while people leave and shake hands. I like most modern Americans love babies. A goodly chunk of our GNP is dedicated do children of all ages. This was not the case in Jesus day. Children, like their mothers and other women had little or no power. Children had a 60% chance of not surviving to adulthood and were considered property. The family existed to uphold and promote the status and standing of the pater familias, or the male head of household. Jesus pulls them in the middle of the disciples and tells them to become like one of these. Become and idendify with the powerless in our world. Become and identify with the lowly of this world. A recent study shows that income inequality in the United States is at an all-time high, surpassing even levels seen during the Great Depression (Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/14/income-inequality-is-at-a_n_259516.html) Who would Jesus pull into our midst today and say, Unless you become like one of these, you won’t make it in the Kingdom?