Jesus’ way of acting and speaking is always a little puzzling. In this case, he breaks with the commonly held view of children as socially insignificant beings. The apostles don’t want them around him in their “adult” world where children are only a nuisance. Even the high priests and scribes become “indignant” when they see “the wondrous things he was doing, and the children crying out in the temple area, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David.’” They ask Jesus to reprimand them (see Mt 21:15-16). Instead, Jesus has a completely different attitude towards children: he calls them to him; he embraces them; he places his hands on them and he blesses them; and he even holds them up as models for his disciples.

«…for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these»

In another passage of the Gospel, Jesus says that “unless you change and become like children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3).
Why does the kingdom of God belong to those who are like children? Because children confidently abandon themselves to the care of their fathers and mothers; they believe in their love. When they are in their arms, they feel safe and unafraid. And when they sense that there is danger, they hold on even more tightly to their mom or dad, and they immediately feel protected. At times, we’ve seen a parent put a child in a high place, for example, and then tell him or her to jump. And the child takes a leap with complete trust.
This is the way Jesus wants the disciples of the kingdom of heaven to be. Authentic Christians, like children, believe in the love of God. They throw themselves into the arms of their heavenly Father, and they trust him unconditionally. Nothing frightens them anymore because they never feel alone. Even when a time of trial comes along, they believe in God’s love, for they believe that everything that happens is for their good. Are they worried about something? They put it in the Father’s hands, and with child-like trust they believe he will resolve everything. They abandon themselves completely, as a child does, without calculating the risks.

«…for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these»

Children are totally dependent on their parents for their food, clothing, home, care, education, and so on. So, too, do we “children of the Gospel” depend completely on the Father. He nourishes us as he nourishes the birds of the air. He clothes us as he adorns the wild flowers. He knows what we need even before we ask him for it (see Mt 6:26), and he gives it to us. Even the kingdom of God is not something that we ourselves achieve; we receive it as a gift from the hands of the Father.
Furthermore, children do not do evil, for they don’t even know what it is. Disciples of the Gospel avoid evil by loving. Thus, they keep themselves pure and regain their innocence.
Because children are not burdened by experience, they face life enthusiastically, always in search of new adventures. The “children of the Gospel” believe in God’s mercy, and, forgetting the past, they begin a new life each day in openness to the promptings of the Spirit, which are always creative.
Children do not learn to speak on their own; they need to be taught. The disciples of Jesus do not follow their own reasoning; they learn everything from the word of God to the point of speaking and living according to the Gospel.
Children are inclined to imitate their father. If you ask them: “What do you want to do when you grow up?” they often say that they want to follow their mother’s or their father’s profession. The same applies to the “children of the Gospel.” They imitate their heavenly Father who is Love, and they love as he does. They love everyone because the Father makes the sun rise and the rain fall on the just and the unjust alike (see Mt 5:45). They are the first to love because He loved us while we were still sinners (see Rm 5:8). They love freely, without selfish interests, because this is what the heavenly Father does.
This is why Jesus likes to be surrounded by children and points to them as models.
“Let the children come to me; do not stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”
Children continue to surprise us. Betty, a six-year-old from Milan, wrote to me: “Yesterday Daddy asked me to go to the cellar to get something. The stairway was dark and I was afraid. Then I prayed to Jesus and I felt that he was close to me.”
Irene, Hillary and Laura, three sisters from Florence, got into the car with their mother to go shopping. They passed by their grandfather’s house and asked if they could go in to see him. “You go,” said their mother, “I’ll wait for you here.” When they returned, they asked: “Why didn’t you come, mom?” She replied: “Your grandfather hurt my feelings. This will make him realize what he did.”
Hillary replied, “But mom, we have to love everyone, even our enemies.” Her mother didn’t know what to say. She looked at her children and smiled, “You’re right. Wait for me here.” And she went in to see their grandfather.
We can learn from children to welcome the kingdom of God.

Chiara Lubich