Day 45 – October 30, 2023: Deuteronomy 16-20 and Mark 10

Deuteronomy once again continues on the same path that the previous books of the Torah, the law, had laid out. I’m not going to say much about it, except there continues to be a remembrance of the days when they were in Egypt and there is the command to continue to celebrate the passover which even today is celebrated. Remember it was a passover meal that is the context for the last supper.

In Mark Jesus once again is a friend of children. Last chapter we saw him take a child in his midst and say that unless you have the faith of a child you will not inherit the kingdom of God. Today he shusshes the disciples as they try to keep the children and their parents away from him. He says let the little children come unto me. Here is the front facade of the main building of the orphanage where we worked in Naples. The front says: “Lasciate i fanciulli venire a me”, which is the quote from Mark that says let the little children come unto me. Jesus’ emphasis had a reason behind it, and it is one that we would do well to remember.