Fr. Frank Majka, SJ – The Bridge

Welcoming the Least

The imperial Roman world was full of statues, not just of the gods but also of the emperor. And when people honored the emperor’s statue or image they were honoring the emperor himself. Likewise, if they did not respect the emperor’s image, they were insulting the emperor. Perhaps Jesus was thinking along these lines when he told the disciples that if they welcomed a little child, they welcomed him.

The Pharisees seemed unable to see the majority of people as worthy of welcome, referring to them as “this rabble who know not the Law” (John 7:49). But Jesus gave a welcome to all, especially those who didn’t count for much in his society: children, women, the poor, sinners and the sick. He saw everyone as made in God’s own image and likeness. He saw them as his Father saw them.

Unlike Jesus, we seem to have a hard time grasping the fact that everyone deserves our welcome, even the annoying, the arrogant, the boring, the superficial, and those who push our buttons in a whole variety of ways. We ask Jesus, “Do we really have to?” And he answers that he wasn’t kidding when he said that when we welcome the least, we welcome him.