Today’s Gospel Text: And they were bringing
children to him, that he might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it he
was indignant, and said to them, "Let the children come to me, do not
hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you,
whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter
it." 16 And he took them in his
arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them. Mark 10:13-16
Reflection: There
are some emotional expressions which cannot be easily ignored, such as the cry
of a child or the anger of most living creatures.
What
is it that makes us feel angry? Broadly speaking, there could be good reasons
or for the wrong reasons.
One
could be angry for pure self centered reasons, for example, a father could get
angry with the child because he can’t read his newspaper or because he is angry
with his boss and so he lets out his frustration on the child or his wife or
sometimes even on a domesticated animal at home.
Humans
so often manifest anger indiscriminately and for the wrong reasons and
sometimes if there are good reasons for anger it could be misconstrued as a
wrong. Some look at any manifestation of
anger as wrong.
Anger
in itself is a pure emotion, created by God when he created life for the good
of life. It is power in our hands which can be used and abused too.
Blessed
is the man who makes less use or rather the right use of the power he wields in
order to get work done and more so uses it for the glory of God.
Therefore
in scripture you have St. Paul exhorting the Christians: “Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your
anger, and
give no opportunity to the devil.” Eph 4:26-27
Why
did Jesus have to angry?
In
the gospels we see Jesus very rarely getting angry but always for the right
reasons: He is seen to get angry with
the Pharisees on account of the hardness of their hearts; a condition in which
they failed to see the saving truth of God’s love for them.(cfr. Mk. 3:5)
In the
temple he is seen to drive out the money changers who desecrate the temple of
God and thus invites God’s wrath. (cfr. Jn. 2: 14-21)
In
today’s gospel we see him angry with the disciples when they fail to see the
great love that God has for preserving whatever innocence a child may have and
the quality that makes them open to receive the kingdom of God in their hearts.
God’s
anger in this life manifested by the many calamities and sometimes difficulty
around us is an action of his love for us so that we are not lost like the rest
of humanity who reject him.
Prayer: Turn
not thy servant away in anger, thou who hast been my help. Cast me not off, forsake me not, O God of my salvation! Ps 27:9
DD = Dedicated
Discipleship: Come grow
in the Lord with us
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