Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
The disciples were seeking greatness. But this was a trajectory leading to a dead end. Not only would their desire for greatness not obtain its object, but it would even keep them from entering the Kingdom of heaven. Continuing the pursuit of greatness was not only distasteful but was even deadly. Becoming childlike was not an nice optional extra, but a requirement. The attitude that the disciples had was one that required conversion. And the endpoint of that conversion was to become more like the child Jesus brought into their midst than any image of success that they previously had in mind. That child, to be clear, had nothing to recommend him, no great skills or abilities, no prowess, nothing that the world could recognize as productive or powerful. And yet, precisely because he had no legitimate claim to greatness, he was the perfect example for the disciples in the eyes of Jesus. They too would need to humble themselves and accept that they too had nothing more to offer than a child and allow themselves to be welcomed by Jesus in spite of that. Only from such a place of spiritual smallness could the meaning of greatness in the Kingdom of heaven be unlocked.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.
Once disciples surrender their desires for greatness and become childlike they discover what true greatness means. They no longer have to be so concerned that they will be received by the world, because Jesus himself will be concerned on their behalf. He will take his childlike disciples reception by others so personally that it will be as though he himself was being accepted or rejected.
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.
The little ones that follow Jesus don't need to be the last line of their own defense. Others might despise them, but if they remain still and small and at rest in God they need not fear because God himself gives priority of access to the angels who watch over them. If Christians are despised God will surely empower their guardian angels with all the graces needed to face such situations. Believers never need to worry that they will have to face them alone or without the necessary resources. In short, they can manifest and maintain childlike trust no matter what circumstances they face. No matter how tightly shut the worldly prison in which they find themselves might be, the doors of that prison are no match for the protection of the spiritual powerhouses assigned to every believer by God.
Bonus Content: Jimmy Akin on Guardian Angels
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