Pope Francis Angelus Address October 3, 2021 Dear brothers and sisters, buongiorno! In the Gospel of today’s Liturgy we see Jesus react somewhat unusually: He is indignant. And what is most surprising is that his indignation is not caused by the Pharisees who put him to the test with questions about the lawfulness of divorce, but by his disciples who, to protect him from the crowd of people, rebuke some children who had been brought to Jesus. In other words, the Lord is not angry with those who argue with him, but with those who, in order to relieve him of his burden, distance the children from him. Why? It is a good question: why does the Lord do this? Let us remember — it was the Gospel reading of two Sundays ago — that while performing the gesture of embracing a child, Jesus had identified himself with the little ones: he had taught that it is indeed the little ones, namely, those who depend on others, who are in need and cannot reciprocate, that should be served first (cf. Mk 9:35-37). Those who seek God find him there, in the little ones, in those in need: in need not only of material goods, but of care and comfort, such as the sick, the humiliated, prisoners, immigrants, the incarcerated. He is there: in the little ones. This is why Jesus is indignant: any affront to a little one, a poor person, a child, a defenceless person, is done to him. Today the Lord picks up this teaching again and completes it. In fact, he adds: “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it” (Mk 10:15). Here is what is new: the disciple must not only serve the little ones, but also acknowledge himself as a little one. And does each of us recognise ourselves as being little before God? Let us think about this, it will help us. Awareness of being little, awareness of being in need of salvation is indispensable in welcoming the Lord. It is the first step in opening ourselves up to him. Often, however, we forget about this. In prosperity, in well-being, we have the illusion of being self-sufficient, that we suffice to ourselves, that we do not need God. Brothers and sisters, this is a deception, because each one of us is a person in need, a little one. We must seek out our own smallness and recognise it. And there, we will find Jesus.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mw==