Mark 10:2-16
Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
For 1000s of children in every generation since Jesus uttered these words, they have been denied the access, the love deserved of them, their birth right, as living beings, God’s created order, their human right as real fragile human beings fully deserving of our love, and responsibility to let them come to Jesus.
There is no condition based on race or creed. Remember Jesus is addressing his disciples and others, was not surrounded by the people he had been specifically sent to save, but the wider audience of those who had caught something of the spirit in dwelling in Jesus, of God’s saving love and grace.
We saw fit, white civilized society, to take what wasn’t ours, the children of others, with the event of turning them into the likeness of us, rather than the likeness of God. Many never saw our light of day, our way of being, because in their integrity and ownership of their place and culture in this world remained true to themselves, the love of their parents and the spirit of their community and culture.
They died, in grief and separation, unrestored or reconciled to the right of their truth, and the invitation of Jesus to come to him, because to such belongs the kingdom of God. We are deeply sorry for what we have done, not just in Canada but around the world. For to such as these little ones belongs the kingdom of God. God hasn’t intervened, because we took that away by the wrong choices and arrogance that we thought our way was the best way.
The damage has been done and in our sorry we beg the question, what can we/I do to help?
Like the little children, Jesus calls us to him, that we may belong to the kingdom and learn from him. Our attitude, our culture our discernment and understanding of how Jesus calls us to be, is a matter of our urgent attention, because the time is right and the story has been told and we have and will always have something to learn from our best friend, our teacher. As we make friends, listen and feel that unutterable sense and presence of God in others and ourselves, rejoice, because then you will know that his invitation and call is to all of us, not just a perceived few.
Bless us all in the awkwardness of reconciliation that we may find courage in God’s unconditional love.
Blessings. Fr. Jeff
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