Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it

 

 Then He arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan.  And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again.  The Pharisees came and asked Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" testing Him.  And He answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?"  They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.  But from the beginning of the 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 then they are no longer two, but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter.  So He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.  And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.  But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."  And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them. 

 

- Mark 10:1-16 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His teaching to the disciples regarding treatment of the "little ones" or "little children" in the Church.  He taught them, "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.  If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched -- where 'Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'  And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter into life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched -- where 'Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.  It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire -- where 'Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'   For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.  Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it?  Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another." 

 

 Then He arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan.  And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again.  The Pharisees came and asked Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" testing Him.  And He answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?"  They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.  But from the beginning of the 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 then they are no longer two, but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter.  So He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.  And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."  My study Bible comments that, in contrast to the easy access to divorce under the Mosaic Law, and because of the misuse of divorce in that day, Jesus repeatedly condemns divorce (for example, in Matthew 5:31-32 and 19:8-9), and emphasizes the eternal nature of marriage.  In Matthew's Gospel, Christ mentions the possibility for divorce on the grounds of sexual immorality, which shows that marriage can be destroyed by sin, which includes abuse.  In the ancient Church, my study Bible adds,  the possible reasons for divorce were expanded to include threat to a spouse's or child's life, and desertion, in all cases acknowledging the spiritual tragedy of such a situation.  Jesus' quotations are from Genesis 1:27, 5:2; 2:24.

 

 Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.  But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."  And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.   Once again (as in Monday's reading) Jesus uses little children as examples of those who will be in His Church.  My study Bible Theophan's commentary, who says that the disciples rebuked the mothers for bringing little children to Christ both because their manner was "unruly" and because they thought that children "diminished His dignity as Teacher and Master."  But Christ rejects this thinking, and sets little children as an example of those who inherit the kingdom of God.  Therefore, children are invited -- even as an example to adults -- to participate in the Kingdom through prayer, worship, baptism, chrismation, and Communion in the Orthodox Church.  My study Bible further cites Theophan, who comments on a similar passage at Luke 18:15-17, "A little child is not arrogant, he does not despise anyone, he is innocent and guileless.  He does not inflate himself in the presence of important people, nor withdraw from those in sorrows.  Instead, he lives in complete simplicity."

In thinking about the model of a little child as one who expresses the character of a follower of Christ, one has to ponder what are these qualities that Jesus says belong to the Kingdom of God?   One may try to think back to one's own childhood, but that is not a simple nor easy thing to do -- there's not much objectivity in looking at oneself from the inside out.  The children around me are often fully exuberant:  that is, whatever it is they are doing, they fully feel it in every fiber of their being.  There is very little duplicity of thought, but rather simplicity in terms of sheer focus on whatever it is they're taken by at the moment.  When they greet a friend they recognize, it's without much inhibition of feeling or expression, no matter what their surroundings.  If a child wants you to go away, they will be very blunt about that too!   Purity of heart can be linked to a type of directness that is not related to immaturity but rather to the capacity for simplicity:  for being the same on the inside as on the outside.  Whatever is expressed to another is done without manipulation, double-talk, or intervening "smoke and mirrors," so to speak.  When Jesus sends the disciples out on their first apostolic mission, He tells them, "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16).  In point of fact, when we look at the Greek of the text, this word translated as "harmless" (or often as "innocent") really means "pure."  It is literally "unmixed" -- meaning a heart that is not conflicted, nor tainted with ulterior motives or flaws.  It is akin to the purity of a perfect natural pearl, made purely of nacre alone.  This quality of the Kingdom of God is one of the purity to give oneself fully to God, nothing held back.  For those of us who seek this path of faith, all too often it seems it is par for the course to discover yet more within the heart that must be dealt with and reconciled to God, often requiring of us a sense of sacrifice (see especially yesterday's reading for the subject of this type of sacrifice).  There is always more that needs refining, as life's experiences, stored away deep within ourselves, will come up again for re-examination, and for giving up to Christ, laying our own assumptions and responses at the foot of the Cross.  To be like a little child is also possibly to have the humility to accept correction, that there really is an authority that knows better than we do, and especially the capacity to trust in God who holds that authority.  To have that trusting nature is the mark of a child, and to be able to have that kind of trust is linked to the real nature of faith.  In the Greek of the Scriptures, when Christ speaks of faith, it is a word whose root means "trust."  As adults, we might not meet many people in life we fully trust, but the heart we bear within us from childhood may reveal that trust to Christ, for that is the true root of faith, the face we can turn toward God.