The Gesture of Placing the Child in the midst of the Disciples

GOSPEL THOUGHTS

*Ordinary Season:  Twenty Sixth Week : Wednesday* 

*Gospel : Mt 18:1-4*

*First Reading : Is 66:10-14*

*Responsorial Psalm :  Ps 131:1-3*

*The Gesture of Placing the Child in the midst of the Disciples* 

*1) The Child as a Living Parable*

Jesus often used concrete actions to embody his teachings. By placing a child in their midst, he transforms the child into a “living parable.” 

The child is not just an illustration but the message itself—an embodied sign of how one should approach God and live in community.

*2) Humility and Littleness*

In the ancient world, children had no social status, power, or rights. They were dependent, vulnerable, and often overlooked. 

By setting a child at the center, Jesus reverses the disciples’ worldly notions of greatness (they had been arguing about who was the greatest). 

He shows that true greatness in God’s Kingdom is not about status or achievement but about humility, dependence, and openness.

*3) Model of Trust and Dependence*

Children rely completely on parents for protection, nourishment, and guidance. 

Jesus presents this dependence as a model of how we must receive the Kingdom of God—not as self-sufficient achievers but as those who trust fully in God’s care.

*4) Inclusivity of the Kingdom*

By welcoming the child, Jesus highlights that the Kingdom is not only for the strong, learned, or religiously elite but also for the weak, the simple, and those often pushed aside. 

Placing the child “in their midst” is also a message to the disciples: the least must be at the center of the community.

*5) A Challenge to Conversion*

The gesture is not sentimental but radical. It challenges adults—disciples included—to “become like children” in spirit: to embrace simplicity, honesty, wonder, and openness. 

It demands a conversion from pride, self-importance, and self-reliance.

*6) Jesus Identifies with the Little Ones*

Elsewhere, Jesus says, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me” (Mt 18:5). 

By putting the child at the center, Jesus makes clear that he himself is found among the little, the vulnerable, and the overlooked. To serve them is to serve Christ himself.

*8) Application for today*

Do I measure greatness by success, knowledge, or recognition—or by humility and service?

In my community, do I keep the “little ones” at the margins, or do I place them at the center, as Jesus did?

Am I willing to live with childlike trust in God, or do I cling to control and self-sufficiency?

*Think about it*

*God bless you and your family. Praying for you and your dear ones*

*Fr Maxim DSouza*

*Jeppu Seminary*

*Mangalore*