The painting captures something frequently overlooked in discussions of faithful discipleship: when Christ beckons us to follow, this requires a radically transformed relationship with our own coins on the table. And I believe this to be true for both individuals and churches alike.

Trying to make sense of “this generation” can be fraught with misapprehension. Many things are different, yet many things remain the same. The Gospel of Matthew helps to reinvigorate our notions of modernity, and remind us of the place that children hold as descendants of faith and the new foundation for future discipleship.