the
victor palm branch waving, with singing clear and loud.
The
Lord of earth and heaven rode on in lowly state,
nor
scorned that little children should on his bidding wait.
---Jennette Threlfall, 1873
It is always a heartwarming picture when Jesus and children
get together. My little Bible, given to me June 26, 1968 by “Mother and
Daddy”, is covered in a suh-weet colored
depiction of Jesus blessing the little children. Everyone from tots to tweens
is gathered 'round Jesus, shepherded by two lovely, young-looking mom-type
ladies. Just looking at it now makes me warm inside. Jesus valued children.
And why not? Our
society claims to value its children, perhaps more than almost anyone else. We
spend hundreds of millions of dollars feeding, clothing, entertaining,
educating, doctoring, bracing, and equipping our children. There are
exceptions, and there are glaring holes in our protection of children as a
society, and we bear the open wounds of our failures with each new disaster.
But with our words, and in our best moments, “the children are our
future” (with thanks to Whitney Houston).
But this attitude toward children is a modern development.
In Jesus’ time, children were disregarded, valued only for the worth of their
labor or future labor to their families. They were insignificant, and having a
religious leader elevate them by his attention was actually embarrassing for
Jesus’ disciples. I wonder, if this story were to take place in modern times, who
would the children be? What group or groups
of people are disregarded and marginalized in today’s society? Who is left out
of the caring circle by us, Jesus’ disciples? Whose presence would Jesus scorn
not? Whose presence should we, Jesus’ disciples, scorn not?
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