Breaking the Word

"No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat (or drink), or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?  Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?' All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.  (Mt 6:24-34)

There are people who present the world as a place of sadness, suffering and all sorts of negative feelings one can attach to it. They go about gloomy, dull and always looking for pity from others. Pharisees were, to an extend, considered the world and the situations around them as negative. At times even Jesus is presented so. Jesus is considered so, because, he wept at the tomb of Lazarus, of his prayer in Gethsemane, and his saying concerning Pharisees.

The passage that we have for reflection today presents a different picture of Jesus. When he said to his followers not to worry about tomorrow or not to be anxious; he taught them by example. He lived the present moment so well that he celebrated the Goodness of God in his life. And this in fact made him happy. He was not talking about a God who was distant from the world. He was talking about a God who was interested in the beauty of things, involved in the lives of the people,

When Jesus said not to worry about food and drinks and clothes, he was not meaning to make us all beg or go about ugly. He wanted us to have right priorities. What he said was this: put the world first then you will end up miserable, but put God first then you get the whole world thrown in. Happiness, joy, peace, beauty, excitement, celebration and all come in our way when we put God first.   

And 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." Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them.  (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 are 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.