2 October 2015 - their angels in heaven

Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.

We need God to help us become like children. We need to be like sons and daughters whose trust in our Father is absolute. Yet wee are all to ready to disobey.

From the time the Lord led our ancestors out of the land of Egypt
until the present day,
we have been disobedient to the Lord, our God,
and only too ready to disregard his voice.

He speaks to us, telling us what is truly best for us. He offers wisdom and truth which is necessary to living good and happy lives but we have better ideas.

For we did not heed the voice of the Lord, our God,
in all the words of the prophets whom he sent us,
but each one of us went off
after the devices of his own wicked heart,
served other gods,
and did evil in the sight of the Lord, our God.

Isn't this world too complicated for us to really embrace smallness and humility? Mustn't we compete to survive? Isn't it basically kill or be killed down here?

Today we celebrate that, when we are small, we can trust in God's fatherly care. Little children's angels have the most direct access to God.

See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.

We can be numbered among them. We can become like little children. God is willing to forget the iniquities of the past and come quickly with his compassion to meet us. All of the baggage of life in a complicated world can be washed away. Jesus wants to give us these blessings if we will just welcome and receive him more fully into our lives. He tells us how.

whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

We must embrace humility wherever we find it. We ourselves must welcome and embrace those who are not, per se, useful. When we do this Jesus transforms our own hearts and frees us from the slavery that insists that we ourselves be useful. After all, God uses us for our sakes, not because we have anything to offer him. Only when we can embrace this unearned love do we truly become like children. 

So we pray:

Help us, O God our savior,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name’s sake.