Gospel in Art: Do not stop the little children coming to me

Evicted, by Erik Henningsen, 1892 © Statens Museum for Kunst (Den Kongelige Malerisamling), Copenhagen, Denmark / Wikimedia Commons

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 19 August 2023
Matthew 19:13-15

People brought little children to Jesus, for him to lay his hands on them and say a prayer. The disciples turned them away, but Jesus said, 'Let the little children alone, and do not stop them coming to me; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.' Then he laid his hands on them and went on his way.

Reflection on the painting

It may seem rather strange that, in today's Gospel, Jesus' disciples would try to prevent the children from coming close to him. In the time of Jesus, children were way down the pecking order of society. They were simply without rights or status. Perhaps the disciples thought therefore that these children were not 'worthy' of Jesus' attention. Hence Jesus told his disciples that they still had a great deal to learn about the values of the kingdom of God which Christ came to proclaim! Those who have little or no status or importance in this world have a special place in the kingdom of God.

It such a simple and beautiful message really. Probably the people nowadays who have no status or are largely neglected by society are the homeless. There were 271,000 households recorded as homeless in England at the start of 2023. But the scale of homelessness is notoriously hard to quantify, as it is a moving target and often situations are not even recorded. Hence homelessness is not always a visible problem. Hidden homelessness, also known as 'sofa surfing', when homeless people stay at friends or relatives, is virtually impossible to count.

Amid the current cost of living crisis, homelessness is unfortunately predicted to soar even further, with many more families not being able to afford rent, mortgages or energy bills. Many people will be evicted. Our painting by Erik Henningsen is gripping. The artist is best known for his Social Realist paintings of poor and exposed groups in the 1880s and 1890s. We see a family, consisting of three generations (grandmother, mother and daughter) after they have been evicted. They are have been thrown onto the cold, snowy street. Further back, the father of the family is begging the policeman for mercy and to reverse the decision for eviction. Two older men on the left are watching the sad scene.

We pray for all homeless people today, knowing that they will indeed have a special place in the kingdom of God.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-19-13-15-2023/