Saturday in the Nineteenth Week of Ordinary Time, August 14, 2021

Matthew 19:13-15

Children were brought to Jesus that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” After he placed his hands on them, he went away.

According to ancient custom, parents blessed their children, and of especial significance was the blessing of the first-born, the heir.  We read of this in the case of Jacob and Esau, although Esau had sold his birthright, holding it in contempt for a bowl of lentil soup, and Jacob was blessed instead.  In the Gospel reading for today’s Mass, St. Matthew tells us of people bringing their children to the Lord for him to bless so that not only would he confer grace upon them, but in a sense they would become his children as well.  In addition, as at least one Church Father points out, coming on the heels of the Lord’s commendation of chastity, this is most fitting to do then, for few are as pure as small children.  The Lord confirms this when he says, “The Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these”, for if the Kingdom is not for them, it is for no one.  As the Lord had said on the mountain: “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5, 8).

“The disciples rebuked them.”  They rebuked the parents, not the children.  It seems strange that the disciples would undertake to intervene here.  They do so, however, out of their understanding of the Lord’s dignity: he who heals the blind and the lame, who raises the dead, who expels demons, and whom they expected would lead the Israelites in battle against the Romans, should not have to do with little children.  “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them.”  The Lord, as he often did, challenges the opinion his disciples have of him.  The Lord is concerned for even those as small and easily overlooked as small children can be.  There is no one whom he does not love.

“For the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  We note that the Lord says “such as these”: he does not say that the Kingdom belongs to “these” children specifically, but to “such as these” — those who are child-like in some way.  This teaching relates most especially to purity, but in it the Lord also means such virtues as humility and meekness.  The virtue of purity is necessary for us because it enables us to give ourselves entirely to God without reservation, just as it is necessary for those preparing for marriage so that a man and a woman may give themselves to each other without reservation.  We see the primacy of purity over, say, meekness, in the Beatitudes, for the meek shall inherit the land — that is, become heirs of heaven — but it is the pure of heart who shall “see God” — become like him (1 John 3, 2).

“After he placed his hands on them, he went away.”  He did not depart until he had laid his hands on every child who was brought forward.  He left immediately afterward, burning with zeal to continue teaching about the Kingdom.