Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me

Orthodox icon of St. Ignatius of Antioch, 17th century, Russia.  Now located in Patriarchate of Antioch, Damascus, Syria

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.

"But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.  Woe to the world because of offenses!  For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!  If your hand of foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire."

- Matthew 18:1-9

Yesterday we read that while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to the disciples, "The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up."  And they were exceedingly sorrowful.  When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, "Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?"  He said, "Yes."  And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, "What do you think, Simon?  From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?"  Peter said to Him, "From strangers."  Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free.  Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go into the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first.  And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you."

 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me."  My study bible tells us that this question indicates a selfish interest in worldly power on the part of the disciples.  Perhaps they assume -- after Jesus has told them that on the third day after He is killed, He will be raised up -- that this means a worldly kingdom will be made manifest, with Jesus as king.  But Jesus uses the opportunity to teach them about the faith they will carry into the world, and the nature of authority and power.  He points to the little child as the model of true discipleship -- and gives a picture of the virtues required for entrance into the kingdom of heaven.   These qualities shown in the little child include dependence, humility, lowliness, simplicity, obedience, and a willingness to love and be loved, as my study bible indicates.  In traditional Orthodox icons of this incident, St. Ignatius of Antioch is shown as this child.  In some legends of the saints, he is the boy who gave the loaves and fishes (John 6:9). 

 "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.  Woe to the world because of offenses!  For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!  If your hand of foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire."   Little ones, my study bible comments, include all who have childlike humility and simplicity, all those of whom it can be said they are poor in spirit.  As in the Sermon on the Mount (5:29), Jesus uses an illustration of amputation to show the importance of decisive action to put sin far away from us or to avoid it.  (There is no advocacy for literal amputation or mutilation here!)   Rather Jesus speaks of any temptation to abuse those who are easily exploited, manipulated, or pushed around.  My study bible says that this also refers to harmful relationships that must be severed for the salvation of all parties (see Luke 14:26; 1 Corinthians 5:5).  

If we think of amputation in Jesus' context, we must consider it in light of medical practices of the time.  A diseased limb or eye -- before penicillin or antibiotics existed -- having to be removed in order to prevent disease spreading was not a strange or unusual concept.  But certainly it was the final resort to prevent more of the body being diseased and ultimately death.  This is the context in which Jesus speaks about taking decisive action to prevent the spread of "illness."  And in this case, He's speaking of spiritual illness, or sin.  How we look on those we can exploit or push around, where our hand reaches out to grab what doesn't belong to us, or foot decides to trespass, are things we need to cast away from ourselves if they are going to cause offenses -- or, in Jesus' words, "cause one of these little ones to sin."   In yesterday's reading and commentary, we discussed St. Paul's concerns for the Church in the context of the society, and his recommendations for social conduct that in all ways would edify and protect the Church.  Here in today's reading, coming directly after His stated desire to refuse to give offense to the local community by paying the temple tax, although not actually warranted because of His identity as Christ, Jesus does the same.  He is laying out prescribed behavior for those who will become the leaders of His Church -- and what they must do to above all protect the flock, to avoid giving cause for scandal and thus causing sin in the "little ones," those who will rely on them for guidance and direction.  Above all, Jesus' eye is on these little ones, and not those who would be greatest in the Church.  This is because for those who would be great, their job is to care for the little ones, to nurture and build up the flock.  This is precisely St. Paul's perspective as well, although his advice to the church at Corinth involved social conduct in differing dimensions.  But both Christ and St. Paul find common ground in seeking to protect and build up the Church, avoiding unnecessary scandal as stumbling block.  If we put this in the perspective of today, we can surely see problems of treatment of "little ones" in straying hands where they don't belong, scandals of abuse or possibly of financial misuse, anything that would give scandal to the simple and humble and cause them to stray.  The important thing that we keep in mind in terms of Christ's leadership is a clear call for putting aside selfish desires in order to serve the community.  His disciples, the bishops or pillars of the Church on whose shoulders everything else would fall, are those who must see in the littlest ones the image of Christ Himself.  Think about what a stark warning that really is, to these men who knew and lived with Christ and called Him "Lord" to His face.  In today's world there are plenty of scandals around the world, violence and power that seem out of control, and unfortunately no shortage of scandals in the Church (excluding no denomination).  Particularly at this time people need Christ as Savior.  There are so many ways to lose one's way due to influences all around, including deliberate stoking up of anger or panic and fear.  Let us consider for ourselves, then, how much more important Christ's words are today than ever, in order to protect the flock, to bring Christ's words to all, and especially to protect the faith of the littlest ones.  We might all serve as leaders if we but remember this one most important thing about how to use our power or agency -- such as it is -- to build Christ's saving word in the world that so sorely needs it.   The icon above is a rendering of St. Ignatius of Antioch.  It shows his martyrdom in the arena, as a Christian bishop of Antioch, who was eaten by lions in the arena at Rome.  It was in his city, Antioch, Syria, where those who followed Jesus were first called Christians.  Let us think about the nurturing in love and care of such a "little one," who could grow to become so bold in strength to give his life for his faith and the ones whom Christ loved.