“Let the little children come to me and do not stop them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these."

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

James 5:13-20

Are any among you discouraged?

They should pray. Are any of you happy? They should sing songs to God.  If any­one is sick, let him call on the elders of the Church. They shall pray for him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.   The prayer said in faith will save the sick person; the Lord will raise him up and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.

 There will be healing if you confess your sins to one another and pray for each other. The prayer of the upright man has great power, provided he perseveres.   Eli­jah was a human being like ourselves and when he prayed earnestly for it not to rain, no rain fell for three and a half years.   Then he prayed again: the sky yielded rain and the earth produced its fruit.

Brothers, if any one of you strays far away from the truth and another person brings him back to it,   be sure of this: he who brings back a sinner from the wrong way will save his soul from death and win forgiveness for many sins.

 

Ps 141:1-2, 3 & 8

Let my prayer come like incense before you.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊ 

Mark 10:13-16

 People were bringing their little children to him to have him touch them, and the disciples rebuked them for this.  When Jesus noticed it, he was very angry and said, “Let the children come to me and don’t stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  

 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.”   Then he took the children in his arms and laying his hands on them, blessed them.

 

Gospel Reflection：

 Gender Bias

“Is it right for a husband to divorce his wife?” The gender bias is inescapable. The question carries reference on ly to the “right” of men to divorce their wives. There is no corollary as to the legitimacy of a wife divorcing her husband.

Not even such a possibility exists in their thoughts. Contrast this with the later response of Jesus to the disciples, in which he is inclusive of both genders in his rejection of divorce.

He equates both men and women in his ruling of right and wrong – precisely because, as he responded to the Pharisees, God has made human beings male and female.

Even when the explicit theme of the discourse is the question of divorce, let us not lose sight of the hidden assumptions and false priorities that underlie such questions. Had there been gender equivalence in their minds, perhaps the question of divorce would not have occurred at all!