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' first prediction to the disciples about His Passion,  He 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.   The disciples this father refers to are those who did not go up with Jesus to the Mount of Transfiguration; here, those who had come down from the mountain are Jesus, Peter, and James and John Zebedee.  My study bible comments that, while the disciples' faith was incomplete (Matthew 17:19-20), Christ rebuke, "O faithless and perverse generation . . . ," is also to the crowds, whose faith was weaker still (see Mark 9:22-24).  

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.   This is the second warning the disciples are given by Jesus of His coming Passion.  (We can read the first in Thursday's reading.)  Note that with each prediction, He gives more details.  Here He tells them that He is about to be betrayed.  My study bible says that this repeated prediction was meant to encourage and strengthen them for the terrifying events that they would face, and to assure them that Christ was not powerless, but went too the Cross willingly.

 

 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."  My study bible comments that this dwelling upon which of them would be greatest indicates a selfish interest in worldly power.  But Luke's emphasis is on the desire to be great, and Jesus' teaching here is about the graciousness of the Kingdom and those who would dwell in it and bear it into the world.  Jesus also teaches about the great virtue of humility (least among you) as paramount for being great in His Church.    My study bible says that a little child is the model of discipleship, bearing the virtues of discipleship necessary for entrance into the Kingdom:  humility, dependence, lowliness, simplicity, obedience, and a willingness to love and be loved.  Regarding John's comment, my study bible cites Theophylact, who sees it stated with regret, in that John's conscience was pricked by what Christ said about the least and the great.  On the other hand, St. Ambrose sees John as expecting full obedience to accompany the blessings of the Kingdom.  Christ's response, my study bible says, shows those acting in good faith are not excluded, even if they are not currently numbered among the disciples.  Theophylact writes, "See how divine grace is at work even in those who are not His disciples (see also Numbers 11:24-30).  On those who use Christ's name without good faith, see 11:23, Acts 19:13-16.

What does it mean to be like a little child?  As I've written above, Luke's version of Jesus' reply emphasizes the graciousness necessary to be not only a member of this Kingdom, but to be great in it, to be a true leader.  It emphasizes a model of compassion and understanding embedded in the notion that to receive even a little child in Christ's name is to receive Christ -- and more.  It is as if we receive God the Father, the One who sent Christ into this world as Incarnate human being.  To receive that child in the name of Christ is a formal embedding of terminology right out of a diplomatic and regal code book of honoring delegates from foreign nations.  Especially in the time and place of the Roman Empire, it was understood that to receive even commodities that bore the Emperor's seal commanded the respect due the power and person of the Emperor -- to treat any person or even any thing bearer that seal was to disrespect the Emperor.  And so it is with the little child who comes in the name of Christ and who is received in that Name.  It is a way of Christ to emphasize that whatever bears His own seal, so to speak, must be understood not only in the context of His own Person, but even of God the Father who sent Him.  What we do in the name of Christ, because we bear that name or others bear that name, is borne before Christ Himself and before the Father.  There cannot be a greater emphasis on the need not only for humility but also extremely gracious behavior.  For we who call ourselves Christians bear His name, and therefore are His representatives in the world.   It is important to understand that Christ is telling His disciples -- and through them, all of us -- that to bear His name is also to take responsibility for how deeply we respect all that bears His name, including our behavior to the "least" among us.  We understand that the Incarnation is a sign of the Lord gracious condescension to all of us.  Let us consider what Jesus' concept of greatness is, and how we bear His name into the world through gracious behavior.