"Who's the greatest?”
We
are often obsessed with the question “Who's the greatest?”
With matters of status, power, with “winning”. We don't
grow up much from being like kids in the playground: measuring each
other to see who's the tallest, bullying the kid who is wearing
cast-off clothes, or saying “My Dad could hammer your Dad.” The
life of kids in the playground reflects the disorder in our hearts.
And even at a few weeks old, Georgie Grace is trying to let it be
known who's in charge in the Mitchell household!
And
that is the problem that Jesus faces even in his group of followers.
(v 1) Jesus' answer is to get a child to stand in the middle of the
circle (v 2). He knows the kid is not perfect. A newborn will scream
the place down for what she needs. A toddler will grab something and
insist “that's mine!” Jesus has no illusions about children. He
knows what they are. They are simple, emotional, they express what
they feel. They are simply, like the rest of us, wired for survival.
But this child can teach the disciples something.
The only way
And the first lesson the child teaches
is “The way, to be the greatest, in fact the only way even to enter
the Kingdom of Heaven, is to turn around – a complete change of
direction – and be like a child: not fighting for supremacy, but –
well, what? The answer is humility.
It is the humility of the child that
Jesus commends. The word “humble yourself” literally means make
oneself small. It's a complete “turnaround;” in the adult world
we spend so much of our energy trying to “big ourselves up”, when
God calls us to “small ourselves down” We complicate our lives.
We complicate our thinking. We jockey for position. We manipulate.
We argue. We justify ourselves. What Jesus likes in the children is
their humility. No airs and graces. Not sense of “I am better
than you”. No sense of “I deserve” and certainly no qualms
about asking for what they need. Children come with a humility.
“Here I am. I have needs: I'm hungry, I’m scared, can you help?”
The complete turn-around to
childlikeness, trust and humility are the way into God's Kingdom.
That's a lesson we all need to learn.
Welcome
And it follows,
that God cares about the children. It matters how we treat them. We
need to welcome them (v. 5) That means in our homes. It means in
our Churches. And to welcome someone doesn't simply mean we are
pleased to have them there. Of course we are thrilled to be parents
or grandparents. Of course we are thrilled to have children in our
churches. But to welcome them we offer them a hospitable, safe,
environment. The Greek word means welcome, accept as an ally, to
take note of, and receive.
In the Film Greystoke, when Tarzan
comes home to Greystoke, and breaks the rules by drinking his soup
out of the plate, the old Earl, his grandfather, does the same and
the rest of the guests follow the old man's lead. That's a welcome:
every effort made to make someone feel at home.
To welcome someone means to remove the
“stumbling blocks”. (v. 6f) The Greek word originally meant a
trap spring – the bit of the trap that causes it to catch its prey.
It came to be used of these stones that stick up out of the earth,
on country lanes, that are so easy to fall over. It's happened to me
a number of times – I limp home covered in blood because of some
wee stone hidden in the grass. There are things in our lives that
trip people up, hinder their journey and endanger them emotionally
and spiritually. We need to get rid of these things. The same things
often make us stumble as well. (v. 8f)
We need to get rid of
the baggage we carry around, habits and ways of behaving, that trip
and trap other people, and trip and trap ourselves, that make
us
stumble. We
need to rid ourselves of the baggage that hinders our journey, even
if that is hands or eyes.
Little
ones may be literal children or Jesus may be extending the meaning to
include all of the least in society... the poor, the learning
disabled, the physically and sensory disabled, minority peoples.
Woe
to any who place a stumbling block in the way of little people –
that is who make it more difficult to continue their journey.
Especially their journey towards faith.
Respect
Secondly, Jesus says, “Do not despise
the little ones.” (v
10)
Respect. Honour them; listen to them; learn from them. Their
angels are constantly able to look the Heavenly father in the face.
The Bible says a lot about angels: nations, churches and even the
smallest people have their angels who are constantly gazing on the
face of God himself. We should treat the little ones with respect.
But Jesus calls God “Father”. I
know there's a lot of stuff out there about contacting the angels –
a lot of it moneymaking, and will take you into darkness not light.
We don't need angel cards, and a whole pile of books and merchandise
or some kind of knowledge about who these angel are. Because the
angels look our Father in Heaven in the face. He is a father. He
loves us just as we are and welcomes us just as we are. In fact all
that angel stuff will get in the way. We don't need to know their
names. We just need to say “Dad” to our heavenly father.
Then Jesus tells a favourite story of
his about a lost sheep. (v 12f) There was only one lost, but the
shepherd went out looking for that one. He's teaching us what it
means to care for the little ones and the lost ones. And he's
teaching us about our Father's love for us. He doesn't want even one
to be lost. Respect the little ones. Respect yourself. God is out
looking for the little ones; God is out looking for you. That's what
the whole life of Jesus was about. (v. 11) God the Heavenly Father
doesn't want any of us to be lost. He wants every one of us to come
to know him, and trust him, and love him; to enter his Kingdom. (v.
14)
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we know that in
your Kingdom, there, there is peace, strength, and forgiveness, and
things are made better. We come to you humbly, wanting to enter your
Kingdom. Thank you that Jesus came to seek the lost, and that you
don't want anyone to be lost. Please receive us now into your
kingdom as we turn to you. Amen.
© Gilmour Lilly August 2014
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