Childlike, not Childish – Matthew 18:1-14
/Lectionary Readings for September 6, 2020
Exodus 12:1-14 The First Passover Instituted
Psalm 148 or 149 Praise for God’s Universal Glory
Romans 13:8-14 Love Fulfills God’s Requirements
Matthew 18:15-20 Correcting Another Believer
But this week we’re focusing on Matthew 18:1-14 “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” and the Parable of the Lost Sheep.
Peace Quotes
“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” ~ Arnold Schwarzenegger
Let us not waver in our never-ending work of creating peace in and around us.
“You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.” ~ Indira Gandhi
As we all strive to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our homes and in our communities, let us reach out with loving, open hands.
Any time I preach or lead a group, regardless of age, I start the same way. I’m going to say three short sentences. Please repeat each sentence, with enthusiasm.
God made me. God loves me. God has plans for me.
Preface to Today’s Scripture Reading
Today’s text is a small portion of longer section where Jesus shares numerous teachings with His disciples about what it means to follow Jesus’ faith. The term Christian did not exist until well after Jesus’ death and resurrection. At this point, Jesus’ devotees were starting to be called “Followers of The Way” in keeping with John 14:6 where Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”
OK, great. So, what does it mean to be a “Follower of The Way?” In many ways, Jesus’ entire ministry addressed that very question. Today, Jesus addresses the question with three separate teachings.
First, Jesus tells us we need to be more childlike. Mind you, not childish, but childlike. Jesus wants the disciples to be more concerned about others than about themselves – which is a solid message for us 2,000 years later.
Second, Jesus invokes hyperbole – grand exaggerations not meant to be taken literally – to teach us how swiftly and concretely we need to deal with our temptations – our desires to think, say, and do things that are contrary to God’s desires for us. Also, when you hear the phrase “the hell of fire,” know that in this instance, Jesus is referring to the burning trash heap on the edge of town – not “Hell” as we might instinctively think of it.
In the third section, we have the famous Parable of the Lost Sheep which teaches us that we need to reflect God’s welcoming joy when someone who is spiritually lost – meaning disconnected from a loving relationship with God – is able to rejoin the local and the universal body of Christians.
Finally, taken as an integrated whole, Jesus uses today’s teaching to explain to the disciples that it’s more important to focus on including as many people as possible in the Kingdom of God rather than seeking their own status within the Kingdom.
Let’s open our ears, minds, and hearts as we read today’s text.
Read Matthew 18:1-14.
Imagine you are at a large public event – I’m thinking of the farmers market one weekend. All sorts of people are walking around. Now imagine Jesus is there and you are standing near Him – along with a dozen or so other adults – with everyone in your group listening to His words of wisdom and asking Him questions that are burning in your hearts and minds.
It’s a serious conversation between mature adults who are intensely engaged with timeless questions and deep theology. Then someone asks an honest question, and Jesus invites a small child over to join the group. You might not appreciate the small child’s limited vocabulary, unlimited energy, short attention span, or random comments.
Now you have an idea of how the disciples may have felt in the moment. Remember, at that time in that culture, children were not highly valued or protected by society. They were property who, if they lived beyond childhood, were seen as future laborers and caregivers to their family members young and old.
In a society where literally 99% of the population struggled to survive the forces of nature and the abuse of the elite 1%, children could be mistreated by those in power without fear of repercussions. The plight of children was of little concern to people outside of the child’s family. Jesus captured all of those elements of social structures and powers when He invited the child into the conversation.
“Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” What a great question! Nearly every culture around the world has created burial traditions to ensure the deceased’s success in the afterlife. Jesus’ disciples shared a similar interest. Having spent time with God in the flesh, it’s only natural to think, “I want more of this! How much closer can I get?!?”
Jesus answers the disciples’ question using the child as a visual metaphor, “unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” The disciples must have immediately wondered, “Does Jesus want us to become helpless? Why would we give up our hard-earned social status? Doesn’t our commitment to following and supporting Jesus make us elite?”
Jesus clarifies his comment in the next verse and also answers the original question, “Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
This past week, our Bible Study group wrestled with that word humble. We talked about how differently it might apply to American children today compared to Middle Eastern children 2,000 years ago. Our modern American society – which is intensely focused on individual success, not group success – has spent decades trying to teach children to be confident. In many ways, our cultural machine has succeeded, so we shouldn’t grumble too much when teenagers and 20-somethings come blasting out of the gate believing they can conquer the world. We’ve trained them to do exactly that. We just don’t like it when they try to conquer our world.
So what is Jesus asking us to do when He says, “change and become like children, … become humble …”?
We immediately have to deal with the “c” word – change. Jesus wants us to change. Change from what?
During this week’s Bible Study discussion, someone commented, “Jesus wasn’t just speaking to the disciples back then. He was and is speaking to us today. WE are the disciples.” Indeed, WE are – with all of their passions, questions, and their flaws.
Sometimes we’re like Peter – evangelists one day, deniers another.
Sometimes we’re like Thomas – seeing is believing.
Sometimes we’re like the brothers James and John, aka the Sons of Thunder – ready to obliterate any resistance or rejection we encounter.
Sometimes we’re like Mary and Martha – narrowly focused on the Divine or the mundane.
And sometimes we’re like Judas – short-sighted, inconsistent, and ashamed.
Our Biblical heroes can be models for us in many ways, but they are not perfect and neither are we. If they needed to change, we’re certainly not exempt. So what can we leave behind in our work to change? The disciples’ question reflected an attitude of “what’s in it for me? How much can I benefit?”
Like them, we can change our perspective from greed into generosity.
We can change our vengeful tempers into words of consolation and encouragement.
We can change our skepticisms about God into faith in God’s mysterious nature.
We can change our insecurities about our futures into trusting our Divine Creator who has given us the image of an all-loving Heavenly Father.
We can change our hesitations into bold actions all the while maintaining the humility of knowing that we are God’s children, not God’s equal.
These changes are not easy, but I believe they are all well worth the effort. I speak as someone who is still working to make those changes each day.
As I was thinking of those characters, my mind kept coming back to the unnamed woman in Luke 7:36-50 who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears, kissed His feet, and wiped His feet – anointed them – with ointment. She served Jesus, intimately embraced Jesus, and honored Jesus. As much as her humanity would allow her, she gave Jesus all she could. Her actions, in the best way, strike me as being beautifully childlike: offering all you have, all you can, without restraint, without shame, and without worry for your own future.
If all of us, individually and as a community of faith, could be a little more childlike, offering ourselves as ambassadors of God to the people around us, that would be a great way of creating the Kingdom of God in our midst.
Amen? Amen!