Children and Kingdom

We read Matthew 18:1ff in Morning Prayer. I wrestled with these words, again, as I tried to understand what it means for me as a preacher and practioner. Matthew has reframed the discussion in a much more positive light. In the parallels (Mark 9:33 & Lk 9:46), the disciples are arguing about "who is the greatest." When Jesus asks what is going on, they are embarassed and Jesus uses it as a teaching time about service. As I recall from preaching Mark a few years ago, there are several chapters full of the recurring theme of Jesus explaining about service (and His own death) and the apostles not getting it. In Mark's Gospel, the apostles are bone heads.

Matthew has taken the teaching in a different direction. [Once again, I remind you that I believe that the Gospel writers are trying to convey the truth about Jesus as accurately as possible, not recollect an isolated event in the most accurate detail possible. The words of Jesus were remembered, sometimes with no context. Stories of Jesus were told and retold. The authors fuse together various recollections in an effort to display for us an accurate picture of Jesus.] In Matthew's account, the central feature is a direct question to Jesus: "Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

Matthew has demonstrated his concern that we understand Jesus' position on status over and again in his gospel. You are to call no one father, you are to call no one teacher, you are to call no one rabbi (great one). The greatest among you will be one who serves. [John's Gospel has that latter point placed at the Last Supper where Jesus washes the feet of His followers.] Service, especially the self sacrifice on the cross, is a central component of Jesus' self understanding and it is a vital part of His defintion of a disciple. Matthew takes great pains to make that clear to his readers.

"Unless you turn and become like little children," Jesus warns, "you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

In Jesus' day, children were held in low esteem. To be like a child is not a compliment. There was no fantasy that children are sweet and innocent and pure. Jesus is talking about people of low status; the equivalent of a slave/servant. While Christians give lip service to such, we rarely embrace it as a way of life. This is why the reading is so hard. It talks about children (in my culture a sweet thing) but it gives a harsh message (self denial and negation). The message gets harsher when Jesus says (employing hyperbole), "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out." Gross and graphic, Jesus spells out, from another angle, the demands of discipleship and the cost of faith. No mere cognitive assent here; a radical, life altering, complete makeover is demanded.

I prayed that I would be a child. I prayed that I would be in the kingdom. Yet the pull of status and comfort are strong. Being a converted Christian is an ongoing struggle. Fortunately, Jesus is with us, still teaching, still warning, still reminding through the Word. Still comforting, still forgiving, still healing in the Sacraments. Still loving, still embracing, still renewing in the Church. Still giving life and hope, in the Spirit!