In the broader context of our Gospel passage for today, the disciples have just finished listening to Jesus field some difficult questions from the Pharisees. They had asked Jesus to explain more fully His teaching because they didn’t understand. Many of Jesus’ teachings were difficult and the disciples did not always come to a fuller comprehension until later, sometimes not even until after Jesus’ Passion and Resurrection.
In the midst of the intellectual and theological confusion, children begin coming to Jesus. Kids don’t always have the best timing. I know, call me crazy, but as a mom of six there are some days that my kids, as much as I love them, seemingly refuse to observe when they are interrupting, interjecting, or compounding issues with persistent off-topic questions.
Now, if the disciples couldn’t understand what on earth Jesus was talking about, I don’t find it too far of a stretch to believe they didn’t think children would understand either. Why bother having them around then, if they weren’t going to understand, weren’t going to ask the right questions, and wouldn’t comprehend the answers anyway?
Jesus is of a different mind. Jesus sees the children coming to Him in their innocence and He reaches out to them. He points to them as a model for how the disciples ought to approach the world and His kingdom. It’s not that the children were capable of understanding some kind of hidden knowledge inaccessible to the adult disciples. The children are coming to Jesus, not because they seek answers to complicated theological questions, but because they want to be close to Him. By bringing children into their midst, Jesus is inviting the disciples, and by extension all of us, to recall the real purpose of their time with Jesus.
Jesus calls each of us to become childlike. This is quite different from childish. We can turn to St. Thérèse of Lisieux for a great many spiritual truths, including this simple and profound revelation about childlike souls: “It is to recognize our nothingness, to expect everything from God as a little child expects everything from its father … to be disquieted about nothing, and not to be set on gaining our living,” that is, “the eternal life of heaven.” (Her Last Conversations).
When we recognize that we are utterly and completely dependent upon God, we enter into this place of childlike faith. When we turn to God, again and again, as a little child does to his mother for every need or desire, great and small alike, we become childlike before God. When we run to God in every moment of sorrow or delight, as a daughter flies into the arms of her father with equal vigor over a bouquet of dandelions or a scraped knee, we embrace our identity as children of God.
En el contexto más amplio de nuestro pasaje del Evangelio de hoy, los discípulos acaban de escuchar a Jesús responder algunas preguntas difíciles de los fariseos. Le habían pedido a Jesús que explicara más completamente su enseñanza porque no la entendían. Muchas de las enseñanzas de Jesús fueron difíciles y los discípulos no siempre llegaron a una comprensión más completa hasta más tarde, a veces ni siquiera hasta después de la Pasión y Resurrección de Jesús.
En medio de la confusión intelectual y teológica, los niños comienzan a acercarse a Jesús. Los niños no siempre escogen el mejor momento. Quizá soy yo, pero como madre de seis hijos, hay algunos días en los que mis hijos, por mucho que los amo, aparentemente se niegan a observar cuando interrumpen, intervienen o agravan los problemas con preguntas persistentes fuera de tema.
Ahora bien, si los discípulos no podían entender de qué estaba hablando Jesús, no me parece demasiado exagerado pensar que los niños tampoco lo iban a entender. ¿Por qué molestarse en tenerlos cerca entonces, si no iban a entender, no iban a hacer las preguntas correctas y, al fin de cuentas, no comprenderían las respuestas?
Jesús tiene una opinión diferente. Jesús ve a los niños venir a Él en su inocencia y se acerca a ellos. Los señala como modelo de cómo los discípulos deben tratar al mundo y a su reino. No es que los niños fueran capaces de comprender algún tipo de conocimiento oculto inaccesible a los discípulos adultos. Los niños vienen a Jesús, no porque busquen respuestas a preguntas teológicas complicadas, sino porque quieren estar cerca de Él. Al traer a los niños entre ellos, Jesús invita a los discípulos, y por extensión a todos nosotros, a recordar el verdadero propósito de su tiempo con Jesús.
Jesús nos llama a cada uno de nosotros a ser como niños. Esto es bastante diferente de ser infantil. Podemos acudir a Santa Teresa de Lisieux en busca de muchas verdades espirituales, incluida esta sencilla y profunda revelación sobre las almas infantiles: “Es reconocer nuestra nada, esperar todo de Dios como un niño pequeño espera todo de su padre… por nada nos inquietemos, ni nos propongamos ganarnos el sustento”, es decir, “la vida eterna del cielo”. (de sus Últimas Conversaciones).
Cuando reconocemos que dependemos total y completamente de Dios, entramos en este lugar de fe infantil. Cuando acudimos a Dios, una y otra vez, como lo hace un niño pequeño con su madre para cada necesidad o deseo, grandes o pequeños por igual, nos volvemos como niños ante Dios. Cuando corremos hacia Dios en cada momento de tristeza o deleite, como una hija corra a los brazos de su padre con igual vigor sobre un ramo de flores silvestres o una rodilla raspada, abrazamos nuestra identidad como hijos de Dios.
Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.
Feature Image Credit: Vidal Balielo Jr., pexels.com/photo/family-walking-on-path-1682497/
Heather Orlowski and her husband are busy parents of two little girls (ages 2 and 4). The Catholic Church holds a special place in her heart and in her entire life. She attended Catholic schools from Kindergarten through college. She graduated from Aquinas College with a degree in Elementary/Special Education. Catholic Education is very important to her and she now teaches 1st and 2nd grades at St. Therese Catholic School. In her free time, she loves creating memories with her family and watching her little girls play soccer. 
Emily Jaminet is a Catholic author, speaker, radio personality, wife, and mother of seven children. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mental health and human services from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. She is the co-founder of 
Dr. Alexis Dallara-Marsh is a board-certified neurologist who practices in Bergen County, NJ. She is a wife to her best friend, Akeem, and a mother of two little ones on Earth and two others in heaven above.
Tami Urcia grew up in Western Michigan, a middle child in a large Catholic family. She spent early young adulthood as a missionary in Mexico, studying theology and philosophy, then worked and traveled extensively before finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Western Kentucky. She loves tackling projects, finding fun ways to keep her little ones occupied, quiet conversation with the hubby and finding unique ways to love. She works full time at Diocesan, is a guest blogger on 
Allison Gingras ( 
1-800-994-9817