Breaking the Word

GOSPEL READING: Mk 10:13-16

This passage gives us a new lesson when we read it in line with the previous one (Mk 10:1-12). In the previous passage Jesus disputes with the Pharisees regarding divorce. He makes them think in line with the original plan of God. He also teaches the disciples the evil that is in divorce. Here we see Jesus with the children. Are these children without their parents? Is this situation an outcome of the families that are divorced?

The saying of Jesus, (“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.”) goes only to show that kingdom of God is not about disputes or arguments. Kingdom is not about who is right or wrong. It is not about moral concerns (though it will play its role). The Kingdom is about belonging.

Jesus embraced the children and blessed them. These actions of Jesus show that he at peace with this situation. Here Jesus does even preach to them or tell them what to do. It is all about welcoming, entering, belonging, embracing and blessing. Kingdom is action packed. Actions are, all of them positive and enriching.

‘சிறு பிள்ளைகளை என்னிடம் வர விடுங்கள். அவர்களைத் தடுக்காதீர்கள். ஏனெனில் இறையாட்சி இத்தகையோருக்கே உரியது. இறையாட்சியைச் சிறு பிள்ளையைப்போல் ஏற்றுக் கொள்ளாதோர் அதற்கு உட்படமாட்டார் என உறுதியாக உங்களுக்குச் சொல்கிறேன்” என்று சொல்லுவதன் வழியாக இறையாட்சி என்பது வாதங்களிலும் மோதல்களிலும் அல்ல மாறாக சார்ந்திருப்பதில் உள்ளது என்பதைக் கூறுகிறார்.

GOSPEL READING: Mk 10:1-12

The Pharisees approached Jesus and questioned him to test him. Do they want to put him in prison as they did with John the Baptist? Jesus realizes that there is a trap. The Pharisees quote Moses regarding divorce. Moses does not command or encourage divorce but permits it. In his argument Jesus goes back to the time of creation. It is here that the will of God is revealed. Creation story is found in the book of creation and both Jesus and the Pharisees believed that Moses wrote the book of Genesis. In this the bond that exists between husband and wife is not one of partnership or a working relationship but it is a new entity.

The problem is not with the ideal (as God wanted it) or with the law but with the people. The people are hardhearted. Jesus gives only one remedy for this hardheartedness. The remedy is only in returning to the original intention of the Creator God. It is to return to the original plan of God. Jesus has come to re-establish the original plan of God in his proposal “the kingdom of God”.

இயேசு இவ்வுலகிற்கு வந்தது இறையாட்சியை நிருவுவதற்குத்தான். இறைவன் உலகை படைக்கும்போது கொண்டிருந்த திட்டத்தை மீண்டும் நிலைநாட்டுவதுதான் அடித்தள மனநிலை. ஒழுங்குகள் சட்டங்கள் எல்லாம் பின்வந்தவைதான். இறைதிட்டம் குடும்பத்திலும் உறவிலும் நிலைநாட்டப்படவேண்டும்.