Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
The text for this meditation is written in the 18th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Matthew: Verses 1–20:
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 He called a child, whom he put among them, 3 and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. 6 “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes!
8 “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell of fire.
10 “Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven. 12 What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.
15 “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. 16 But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
Today’s Gospel causes me to marvel at the patience of Jesus. How many times did the disciples try to establish a pecking order among themselves? “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” In the preceding verses, we learn that Jesus has been pouring out His heart concerning His upcoming suffering, death, and resurrection. The disciples show no concern or empathy, they have their own human agenda. They came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Were they not listening? Jesus is speaking of His forthcoming torture and death; He gives them an insight into the greatest miracle of all – His resurrection – and here they are competing for the top job in a place of which they have no understanding; the Kingdom of Heaven. Only Jesus could have the love, compassion and tolerance to lead these men out of their sinful disposition and give them and insight of the glory to come.
The desire for power has been at the root of sin from the beginning. Consider the very first temptation. [Genesis 3:4–5] The serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” There it is, right in the middle of the temptation. “You will be like God.” Here is the serpent tempting Eve with the lie that she could be as great as God Himself.
The first murder is a similar story. [Genesis 4:4b–5] The Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. Cain perceived that Abel was greater in the Kingdom of Heaven. However, instead of repenting, [Genesis 4:8b] Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. He attempted to make himself greater in the Kingdom of Heaven by eliminating the competition.
Consider the history of mankind. How many people have shed blood and died because someone … somewhere … wanted to be the greatest … wanted to have the most power … wanted to have the most influence in the affairs of men?
How much do we lose today because people are more interested in winning than they are in learning the truth? Jesus held the truth in high esteem. He said, [John 8:31–32] “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” We often forget these words and become more like the disciples. We are not interested in the truth. We are more interested in winners and losers. We are interested in who is the greatest.
The Lord patiently demonstrates the sinful nature of this sort of thinking by calling a child to stand among the disciples. In Biblical times, a child whilst probably loved, was considered totally dependent and inferior in standing – the least in the social pecking order. Then He said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Here Jesus is emphasising that the question of who is the greatest is totally inappropriate. Instead, He focuses on who it really is that enters the Kingdom of Heaven.
You see, the disciples’ question about who is the greatest simply assumes that they will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus’ response causes us to rethink that assumption. Instead of being worried about becoming the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, we should focus on entering the Kingdom of Heaven. What a tragedy it would be to struggle to be the greatest and then discover that we are not even entering the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus pointed to the child as an object lesson of what it takes to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The question then becomes, “What is it about a child that qualifies those who enter the Kingdom of Heaven? What does Jesus mean when He instructs us to be like a child?”
It seems as though children produce nothing that makes them worthy of anything. Children are physically weak, subject to the will of adults, and susceptible to sickness. Children do not possess the ability to think rationally. Children cannot logically choose between good and evil, cannot defend themselves, and are easily deceived. All these things seem to indicate that children have no inherent qualification to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, nor can they do anything that makes them worthy of the that kingdom. Instead of possessing great power, children are totally dependent on others for their very existence.
But that is the point. Children are totally dependent. They bring nothing of power to any situation. In the same way, Jesus instructs us to realise that we are totally dependent. We possess nothing of power or position with regard to the Kingdom of Heaven. Like children, who are totally dependent on others for their very existence, we are totally dependent on the mercy and grace of Almighty God for our entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven.
This teaching could be utterly alarming. It means we are totally helpless. It means that if God is not a God of mercy and grace, we are eternally lost. We really are at the mercy of our God and Creator! As humans, we struggle to find any comfort at all in this teaching? It is only through Holy Baptism; the Lord’s Supper; the Word of God; the confession and absolution and prayer that we come to the great revelation that the comfort for all humankind lies in the One who gives this teaching … Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Consider the work of God the Son. The Holy Spirit spoke through the mouth of the Apostle Paul and said, [Philippians 2:5–8] “Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” These words teach us that God the Son loved us so much that He took on our human flesh in order that He might be our substitute before God. As our substitute, He humbled Himself under the law and kept it perfectly. As our substitute, He allowed men to nail Him to a cross. As our substitute, He endured the wrath of almighty God. As our substitute, He died.
All this may appear to be sound Christian logic; but for each and every one of us it presents a challenge. It is not in our human nature to toss our hands in the air and give up control of our lives and our future. Being humble is not our strongest attribute. But the real point here is that Jesus is telling us to be ‘Child-like’ not Childish. God had given us the mental and physical resources to function in life, and in doing so, instead of childishly chasing empty, unattainable dreams like the Disciples in our reading; He is clearly warning us that unless we seek His guidance in our daily lives through earnest prayer and nutritious Christian sustenance through His Word and Sacrament in a ‘child-like’ way we are vulnerable to the wiles of Satan himself.
Jesus is the one on whom we can depend. In fact, we must depend on Him. He is our only hope. [Romans 8:34] “Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us”. He is the one who suffered and died so that we can enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He is the one who rose from the dead in order to show that God the Father accepted His sacrifice for the reconciliation of the world.
Our position in the Kingdom of Heaven is not our worry, if it is, humbly repent and depend on Jesus. Which group has the most influence in the church is not our worry, if it is, humbly repent and depend on Jesus. Ultimately, it is Jesus who is the greatest. It is Jesus who has all the influence. It is Jesus to whom the hosts of heaven bow and sing [Revelation 5:9–13] a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” And again, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing!” And again, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honour and glory and might forever and ever!”
The fact is my dear friends in Christ, that regardless of who we are, what we have, whatever our ambition or position in life, the day will come when we will turn to our Saviour with the question posed by Peter in (John 6:68)“Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Amen.
The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment