(Audio)
The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
We still tend to think of worldly answers to the question of greatness. Whether because of office, popularity, or some other gift or asset, we still tend to assess who is the greatest on worldly terms. when we do so it is because we're asking a question about who matters the most and answering it in terms of what is important to us. But this is not how God sees things. He is not impressed by anyone. In fact he seems to favor those who seem to be the least impressive in the eyes of the world.
Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Here specifically he did what Mary described in her Magnificat. He cast down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. He demonstrated that we don't matter to him in terms of our assets and abilities or status or position. The child he placed before them didn't have an elaborate resume that caused him to be chosen. And yet he, and not any of the great ones of history, was made to be the model for discipleship. It was not to be earned through competition, it was to be accepted like an embrace. First we must learn that we do not earn God's favor. Then, in turn, we must strive to receive others without making them earn our own. We must be able to receive one child such as the one Jesus placed before them, and this because he himself would have done so.
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 are valued much more highly by God than we would guess by their status in the world. In the world they would seem to be the least appreciated and most vulnerable among us, the ones on whom people would not waste their effort or resources. But God assigns angels to each one of them, angels privileged to behold the face of the Father, to guard and guide them. And of course, this can include us, if we learn to become sufficiently small to rely on God's providential care.
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?
Again, the wisdom of the world is turned on its head. The world understands things in terms of strength in numbers. It finds marginal losses acceptable and even unavoidable. But to Jesus there is no person who is insignificant. He is unwilling to let even one sheep remain far from him no matter how many are together in the safety of the hills. Jesus sees people as people, not as percentages. But this goes against the worldly idea of what constitutes strength. To seek the one and leave the ninety-nine probably seems hugely impractical and risky to people with a corporate mindset. But the Kingdom insists that no one can be left behind. And somehow, because this aligns with God's own concern for the lowest and the least, it works out, even when by rights it seemingly shouldn't.
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
We rejoice over having ninety-nine because it is a large impressive number. Jesus rejoices over one because he recognizes in that one a real person created in the image and likeness of God, beloved by the Father.
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost.
We need to learn to share the heart of the Father. The way that we do this is by knowing that it is on the same terms, as little ones, that we first come to him. Then we will be able and eager to welcome others, not content until every last little one is found and brought home to his courts.
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
We still tend to think of worldly answers to the question of greatness. Whether because of office, popularity, or some other gift or asset, we still tend to assess who is the greatest on worldly terms. when we do so it is because we're asking a question about who matters the most and answering it in terms of what is important to us. But this is not how God sees things. He is not impressed by anyone. In fact he seems to favor those who seem to be the least impressive in the eyes of the world.
Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Here specifically he did what Mary described in her Magnificat. He cast down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. He demonstrated that we don't matter to him in terms of our assets and abilities or status or position. The child he placed before them didn't have an elaborate resume that caused him to be chosen. And yet he, and not any of the great ones of history, was made to be the model for discipleship. It was not to be earned through competition, it was to be accepted like an embrace. First we must learn that we do not earn God's favor. Then, in turn, we must strive to receive others without making them earn our own. We must be able to receive one child such as the one Jesus placed before them, and this because he himself would have done so.
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 are valued much more highly by God than we would guess by their status in the world. In the world they would seem to be the least appreciated and most vulnerable among us, the ones on whom people would not waste their effort or resources. But God assigns angels to each one of them, angels privileged to behold the face of the Father, to guard and guide them. And of course, this can include us, if we learn to become sufficiently small to rely on God's providential care.
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?
Again, the wisdom of the world is turned on its head. The world understands things in terms of strength in numbers. It finds marginal losses acceptable and even unavoidable. But to Jesus there is no person who is insignificant. He is unwilling to let even one sheep remain far from him no matter how many are together in the safety of the hills. Jesus sees people as people, not as percentages. But this goes against the worldly idea of what constitutes strength. To seek the one and leave the ninety-nine probably seems hugely impractical and risky to people with a corporate mindset. But the Kingdom insists that no one can be left behind. And somehow, because this aligns with God's own concern for the lowest and the least, it works out, even when by rights it seemingly shouldn't.
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
We rejoice over having ninety-nine because it is a large impressive number. Jesus rejoices over one because he recognizes in that one a real person created in the image and likeness of God, beloved by the Father.
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost.
We need to learn to share the heart of the Father. The way that we do this is by knowing that it is on the same terms, as little ones, that we first come to him. Then we will be able and eager to welcome others, not content until every last little one is found and brought home to his courts.
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