The Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (2024)
People were bringing children to him that he might touch them,
but the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them,
"Let the children come to me;
do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to
such as these.
Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child
will not enter it."
—Mark 10:13-15
In the reading from the Gospel of Mark proclaimed this Sunday, we see Jesus react in a way that seems out of character: Mark tells us that Jesus was “indignant.” And what is, perhaps, most surprising is that this indignation isn’t caused by the Pharisees who try to put him on the spot with their legalistic question about divorce. Instead, it is his disciples who irritate him because—in an effort to “protect” him from the crowds—they rebuked some children who had been brought to Jesus.
To make sense of this story, we have to think back to the Gospel passage that was proclaimed two Sundays ago. Then, we heard about Jesus embracing a child and identifying himself with the little ones of the world. You may recall that Jesus said, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me” (Mark 9:37). In other words, Jesus was teaching those first disciples—and us—that it is the little ones who should have the first place and who should be served first. And so, this is why we hear that Jesus was irritated: “Any affront to a little one, a poor person, a child, a defenseless person, is done to him” (Pope Francis, Angelus Address October 3, 2021).
One of the things that is at stake in this Gospel passage is that we have to create space in our lives for others, most especially for those who have nothing to offer us in return. This teaching of Jesus is grounded in the truth that we heard in the First Reading in which God reflects that “it is not good for the man to be alone” and so, God makes a “suitable partner”: The man and the woman were created to live and work together in mutuality and equality. Adam’s response to the gift of the woman beautifully captures this compatibility of this relationship: “At last, this one is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.”
From the very beginning, we were made to be in relationship with one another and to open up our lives to the gift of the other in our lives. This is one of the greatest witnesses that married couples offer to the world.
But as we know, that beautiful vision of mutuality and equality from the Garden of Eden was short-lived. As Pope Francis observed in a reflection he gave at the 2015 Festival of Families:
“Men and women – through the wiles of the devil – experienced division. And all that love which God gave us was practically lost. And in no time, the first crime was committed, the first fratricide. Brother kills brother: war.”
The damage was done and the beauty and simplicity of that first relationship was lost, and it was lost because the man and the woman chose to look out for themselves. As the story in Genesis tells us, our first parents gave in to the temptation to be “like God” and they tried to claim the authority and agency that belong to God alone. They chose to be self-sufficient and gave up their reliance on God and each another. And this choice has caused ripples that reach us even today. Each of our families—I imagine each of us—has experienced the divisions of divorce and the universe of other broken relationships that cause so much pain and loss in every aspect of life.
This Sunday, Jesus is reminding us that the antidote to this isn’t digging in and seeking greater autonomy and self-sufficiency. That might be a way to protect ourselves, but remember: “it isn’t good for the man—for the woman—to be alone.”
We were made for relationships.
And so, today we hear Jesus inviting each of us to recognize our own littleness. In profound ways, each one of us is a person in need; each one of us is a little one. And, when we admit and accept our own vulnerability and smallness, we will also find Jesus.
This humble recognition of our littleness and our need for others is actually a gift, because it is the starting point for personal and spiritual growth. Think about the story of your own life: when did you experience the times of greatest growth? Was it when you had some sort of overwhelming success or was it when you experienced something painful or difficult? If you’re like me, it was in the painful and difficult times, because it is in the times when we struggle that we open ourselves up to the love of others—and to the love of God—and this is what really transforms us.
It is in our weakest moments—those moments when we most need the love and care of others—that we discover how much God takes care of us. And this brings us to the final point of this Sunday’s Gospel as we consider the tenderness that Jesus showed those little ones: “he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them” (v. 16).
It is when we allow ourselves to be little, the Lord comes close: “He gives us peace; he makes us grow.”
Almighty ever-living God,
who in the abundance of your kindness
surpass the merits and the desires of those who entreat you,
pour out your mercy upon us
to pardon what conscience dreads
and to give what prayer does not dare to ask.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-Collect for the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
This Homily was preached on October 5, 2024, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
