Let the Children Come

"Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them"

- Matthew 19: 14

Today, I attended the funeral of Dr. Arlene Platten, who lead and worked with our students who had IEPs. The Gospel reading was from the Gospel of Matthew (See above). It struck me that this is the spirit of inclusion that Dr. Platten called our school to, one that welcomed the children as Christ did.

Contrast the vignette of the children with the preceding and following verses. Matthew 19: 1-12 is Jesus' teaching on divorce (much referenced with the controversy over Amoris' footnote) ["whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery." - Matthew 19: 9]. The following verses are the story of the rich young man, who goes away sad "for he had many possessions." (Matthew 19:22).

To summarize then, Jesus teaches in Matthew 19:

1. We are called to chastity without and within the Sacrament of Matrimony, even though it may be difficult.

2. We are called to welcome all children.

3. We are called to obey the commandments, give away our wealth, and follow Christ.

How rarely do we heed the call to do all three of these! I struggle so much to be chaste, to welcome, to obey, and to follow. Of course by obeying, welcoming, and being true to our commitments we follow Christ, himself.