"let the children come"
(see Luke 18:9-17)
After telling a story about a tax-collector who stood far off and prayed humbly to God for mercy, Jesus tells his disciples to leave the children alone and allow them to come to him. Jesus always seems to have the "little ones" in his sights. And by "little ones" I'm not only referring to children, but to any vulnerable person who requires care.
It wasn't God who made the tax-collector afraid to approach God in prayer. Most people would agree that the tax-collector didn't have any problem with God - at least, that's what Jesus suggests... that he went away "justified". one of the reasons the tax-collector might have stood far off, afraid to approach the Temple to pray, could have been the attitudes of religious people who through their words and actions reiterated the common message that he was "unworthy".
The challenge for us is this: how hospitable are we to the least?
I suggested in my sermon today (ok, maybe "suggested" is too mild a word) that the Quality of our Hospitality (and the quality of our community) will be measured by the way we treat the most vulnerable amongst us! (not how big or influential or well-known we are...)
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