Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me

 Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him.  Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, "Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child.  And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him.  So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not."  Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you?  Bring your son here."  And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him.  Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.

And they were all amazed at the majesty of God.  But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, "Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men."  But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.

Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest.  And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, and said to them, "Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me.  For he who is least among you all will be great."

Now John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us."  But Jesus said to him, "Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side."

- Luke 9:37-50

Yesterday, we read that, about eight days after Jesus' teaching that He will suffer and be rejected and killed, and raised on the third day, Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.  As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.  And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.  But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.  Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- not knowing what he said.  While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud.  And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone.  But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.

Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him.  Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, "Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child.  And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him.  So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not."  Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you?  Bring your son here."  And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him.  Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.   My study bible tells us here that while the disciples' faith was incomplete (Matthew 17:19-20), Christ's rebuke is also to the crowds, whose faith was still weaker (see Mark 9:22-24).  It's important to notice the destructive nature of the demons, their attacks on human life and the order necessary for health, creating chaos.  What we notice also is the love of this father for his son; almost all requests seem to come to Christ from this type of love for the distress of those who are dear or the threat of their loss.

And they were all amazed at the majesty of God.  But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, "Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men."  But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.  In St. Peter's Second Epistle (2 Peter 1:16), he uses this same word translated as majesty to refer to what he beheld at the Transfiguration (yesterday's reading).  Here, because of the healing of the boy, all the crowd is amazed at the majesty of God.  But once again, Jesus seeks to enforce to the disciples the betrayal that will happen to Him at Jerusalem, telling them, "Let these words sink down into your ears."  My study bible says that His repeated prediction of His Passion is meant to encourage and strengthen the disciples for the terrifying events they will face.  It is also to assure them that He goes willingly to the Cross, and is not powerless.

Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest.  And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, and said to them, "Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me.  For he who is least among you all will be great."  Perhaps the disciples believe that Jesus' predictions of His Passion, death, and Resurrection mean that He will be coming into His Kingdom as a literal kingdom of the world.  Their dispute reflects concerns about their places in this kingdom.  Whatever the cause, Jesus begins to teach them about humility, and most particularly how they are to be leaders of His Church, His spiritual kingdom.  The keynote is graciousness.

Now John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us."  But Jesus said to him, "Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side."  John seems to be asking a thoughtful or reflective question here, after Jesus' teaching about receiving even a little child in His name.  Jesus' teaching is again all about grace:  those acting in good faith aren't excluded, even if they're not currently numbered among the disciples.  For those not acting in good faith, see 11:23; Acts 19:13-16.

Jesus' teachings are all about grace, in so many ways.  His teachings on receiving a little child teach the disciples about the grace which must be the hallmark of leadership in His Kingdom, in His Church.  The whole of the Incarnation is about grace, and the graciousness of God's condescension and humility in order to heal humanity, for the good of human beings.  His suffering on the Cross will be the greatest expression possible of such, the most full acknowledgement that He suffers with us, that God is fully aware of the extensive and deep levels of suffering in the world. Christ's gracious majesty is contrasted with the chaos of the demons, whose destructive work makes no real sense.  Christ represents the 'good order' of that which restores and heals and sets right.  This the effect of what He brings into the world.  The key for the disciples as His followers and those who will become the bishops of His Church, is humility, an understanding of grace as the key to His power and majesty.  In the Gospels, we can contrast this kind of power with that of the leadership in Jerusalem, or of Herod.  But the real key to sharing in this experience and participation in grace and humility is the core of the reading today:  good faith.  Just what is it that constitutes good faith?  What is it that makes for real faith, or a depth of faith?  Everything starts with that.  We're not going to be able to live the gracious life Christ proposes for us without that.  We can learn 'good manners.'  We can even learn compassion, but without faith it seems to me that compassion very easily takes on tones of self-interest, or sets up its own legalistic rules for application, forms of 'correctness' which may apply in one place but not in another.  Faith begins as a kind of communion:  a deepening one, a greater fullness of participation, and a journey that shakes us down to the core at times, demanding of us that we make choices in our loyalties and assumptions.  Christ teaches that we must each take up our cross, following Him.  Faith will challenge the things we hold dear, and ask us to give up what gets in the way of its depth.  That takes great humility, necessary for the grace He gives and teaches.  Christ's majesty is characterized by this.  So, the faith journey begins and continues for us even as for the apostles.  Where are you today?  What questions is it asking of you?  How will you share in its grace, both receiving and giving it?