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March 15, 2026 – Fourth Sunday of Lent

Union Congregational Church of Hancock

Matthew 19:13-15 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

¹³ Then children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them, ¹⁴ but Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” ¹⁵ And he laid his hands on them and went on his way.

Deuteronomy 24:21-22 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

²¹ “When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. ²² Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this.

As a child at my Grampa and Gramma Mack’s “Christmas at the Farm” party I remember clearly the divisions of the children’s table. There were dozens of us and we were relegated to the entry room off the garage. The adults sat around the kitchen table having adult beverages and presumably adult conversations. They used Gramma’s best plates and bowls and glassware. We had our paper plates and plastic cups. Of course we longed to have a seat at the big table – but it was the way it was.

Imagine one of my aunts or uncles, or one of my parents standing up and saying: “Actually, the children belong at the main table.” Suddenly everything would be different. The seating arrangements would shift. The conversation partners, and the conversations, would be different.

Something akin to this happens in our reading today from the Gospel of Matthew. People are bringing children to Jesus so he can bless them. But the disciples try to stop them. In the ancient world, children had no rights or social status. Important teachers were not supposed to be bothered by those considered insignificant. But Jesus interrupts the disciples. “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” With those words, Jesus rearranges the seating chart for the kingdom of God. 

Notice Jesus does not say the kingdom belongs only to children. He says it belongs to “such as these.” Children in that society had no social power. And again and again in the ministry of Jesus, the kingdom shows up first among those with the least power. The overlooked. The dismissed. The ones the establishment would rather stay quiet. In the kingdom of God, those people are not interruptions. They are teachers.

The Greek word Jesus uses for “let them come” carries the sense of releasing or removing restraint. Jesus is not simply welcoming the children. He is removing the obstacles that kept them away. And the obstacles, in this moment, are the disciples themselves.

Today’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew begs a difficult question: When, where, and how are we acting as obstacles to those God is trying to find a seat at the table? 

Exclusion does not always come from intentional cruelty. Sometimes it comes from habits, traditions, or assumptions we have not fully examined. Either way, Jesus makes it clear: the kingdom of God is not built by protecting those in privileged places. It grows by widening that circle of privilege. Jesus does not simply welcome those with the least power, he clears a path for them by removing the obstacles. 

Our second scripture lesson is from the Book of Deuteronomy. Listen again to these words so that we may discern their intent: “When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall be for the immigrant, the orphan, and the widow. Remember that you were a slave in Egypt.”

This law was a remarkable form of economic justice. Land owners and farmers were not to harvest everything. They were to leave the edges of their fields unharvested so that vulnerable people could come and gather what remained. Immigrants. Widows. Orphans. The most economically vulnerable groups in ancient Israel. This was systemic compassion. The system itself was designed so the vulnerable could survive. 

The reason given for this law is important. “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt.” In other words: Do not forget what it felt like to be powerless. Do not forget what it felt like to depend on the mercy of others. Justice grows from remembered suffering. When communities forget their own history of vulnerability, compassion fades. But when we remember – truly remember – we begin to build systems that make life possible for the least of these – and for all those who come after us. The most economically vulnerable groups today remain immigrants, widows, and orphans.

At first glance, these two passages from Matthew and Deuteronomy may seem unrelated. One talks about children coming to Jesus. The other gives instruction on harvesting crops. Together they speak to the importance of including the vulnerable in all spaces. In the Gospel of Matthew, the vulnerable are welcomed into the spiritual community. In the Book of Deuteronomy, the vulnerable are included in the economic life of the land. But the message is the same: God’s community is measured by how it treats those with the least power. The health of a community is not measured by how well it protects its center. The health of a community is measured by how faithfully it cares for those on the margins. 

The disciples tried to keep the children away. Harvesters might have been tempted to gather every last grape. However, God imagines a different world. A world where children are not considered interruptions, but teachers. A world where the edges of the field remain open for those who need them. A world where we remember that we were once strangers, too. The kingdom of God appears whenever we make room for all of God’s children. The kingdom of God grows wherever people refuse to guard the doorway or hoard the harvest. 

I will leave us with a question to ponder. Do we stand with the disciples blocking access, or do we stand with Jesus and say, “Let them come to me”? 

Amen

Rev. TJ Mack – March 15, 2026