Matthew 19:13-14
” Then some children were brought to Him so that He would lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “[i]Leave the children alone, and do not [j]forbid them to come to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.” (NASB)
This passage from the bible has been playing in my head for quite some time, probably more than 4 years, but let’s say 4 years. Last night and today it has rung through my head in the more traditional KJV – “Suffer little children to come unto me.” As a child, that line had always made me feel uneasy. I didn’t understand how Jesus wanted children to suffer. You can imagine my joy when I discovered two things, 1. the words “suffer little children,” were aimed at the disciples, who thinking they were preventing their teacher from being overwhelmed, had tried to stop the children from getting to Jesus. And, 2. that the word “suffer” also translates to, “endure, to allow, to lump it already.” He is telling his disciples off. Don’t stop children from coming to me, for theirs is the kingdom of God, they are always welcome in the Kingdom of God. Not so, it seems to the kingdom of man and for those who proclaim Christianity. They are still “mis”-understanding the KJV translation as “make the children suffer.”
How else can we explain the closeness of this presidential race? How else can so-called Christians vote in massive numbers for a man, a party, a platform that allows children to be stripped from their families unjustly, lost in a system already overwhelmed by underfunding, how else do they justify people, human beings, nomads, like the Christ himself, to be placed in cages to be abused, forgotten, and die. On this one issue alone, and there are plenty, there should be no doubt, no call for recount, no space for tampering accusations, no question as to who should or rather most definitely should not lead the people. And yet. and yet.
My heart aches today, my thoughts have gone to dark places, not visited since I was much younger and lost. I have wept, and weep still, even as I know it looks as though his reign is over. But not so for certain Senators, whose dereliction of duty should land them in court, at the very least! Ah, but there is my old friend “should.” What is and what ought to be – why must they always be so distant from each other?
And do not give me the “pro-life” excuse. If you actually cared one iota for the fetus, the potential human being, you would not allow a single child actually living on this earth to go hungry, to be stripped from loving guardians, to be placed into cages based on their “origin” or, should I say, “papers?” You would endure each and every one on this earth, you would do as Jesus said and suffer little children, allow them in; you would not, like the disciples tried to, stand in the way of them and God – Read: Love, Compassion, and Hospitality. Samaritan goodness. Remember these, Dear Christian? And before you spout off about some asylum* seekers being adult- We are ALL children of God. Or does your Love, unlike His, come with conditions. Then, my friend, you break the singular commandment, “Love your neighbor, as I love you.” That’s it, that’s the one Jesus spoke of. I’ll let you sit with it for a bit; follow the logic and love through. Like I said, my heart aches today and I am angry. I can’t imagine what the Christ feels.
*a place of refuge; safety; shelter; etc.
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