There are two stories in today's Gospel. The first story has the Pharisees testing Jesus about marriage and divorce. The second story is about children and the Kingdom of God. The focus is the Kingdom of God

The Kingdom of God is God Himself, the Kingdom of God is love itself, and the Kingdom of God is God's gift. And it is through God's gift that we love, and understand, and come in communication with God Himself.

Is divorcing your wife or husband and breaking up your family an act of recognising that you are brought together by God Himself? Obviously not!

Marriage and family life are manifestations of the Kingdom of God. God's love, God's mercy, God's forgiveness, God's presence abound. He locks them together. Each person gives the love and life of God to each other. This exchange makes them one in God's Kingdom.

The first reading in Genesis 2:18-24 shows this exchange of love. It takes loving sacrifice from each person, as exemplified in the Letter to the Hebrews 2:9-11.

The second story is easier to relate to. The Kingdom of God is the gift of God. It is not something that we earn. It is the gift of God, just as the love and life in a marriage is the gift of God. If you cannot accept the gift of God as this little child does, you will never know what it means to have the presence of God within you. To have the Kingdom of God in your own heart means that you begin to look at the world in different ways. You are no longer the centre but God.