Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time – 06th October 2024
In his three short years of public activity and ministry, Jesus went out of his way to seek out and find those who were ignored, rejected and often despised by others. He sat and ate with those others called sinners; he literally reached out to touch those who were deaf, dumb and blind.
The sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes were among his closest friends and followers. In the second part of the gospel this Sunday, we see Jesus as he meets and encounters a group of young people.
Jesus is speaking to the crowd and teaching them about the ancient Law and what it says about marriage and divorce. While he is speaking some adults bring children and young people to Jesus so that he can lay his hands on them and bless them.
However, his disciples seem to have a taken on the role of body-guards trying to protect Jesus while keeping people away from him. They actually tried to turn them away. Imagine the disappointment on the faces of these parents and their children as they are deliberately stopped from meeting Jesus. However, Jesus sees what his followers are doing and he is indignant.