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

 

 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is the 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 or foot causes you to sin, but 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 to the sea, 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 the 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 comments that the disciples' question to Jesus (Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?) indicates a selfish interest in worldly power.  Perhaps prompted by Jesus' twice-repeated warning about what is to come in Jerusalem (Matthew 16:21-28, 17:22-23), they have come to believe that the full manifestation of His Kingdom is imminent, and they want to know their "places" in it as His closest disciples.  But Jesus contradicts their assumptions about His Kingdom and how power works within it, by pointing to a little child as the model of true discipleship.  In so doing, He emphasizes the virtues which are required for entrance into the kingdom of heaven, described by my study Bible as humility, dependence, lowliness, simplicity, obedience, and a willingness to love and be loved.  In the iconography of the Orthodox church, this child shown as an example by Jesus is St. Ignatius of Antioch.  In certain legends of saints, he is the boy who gave the loaves and fishes (John 6:9).  Note that the gracious behavior Jesus emphasizes as the model for His Kingdom includes receiving even a little child in His name with the understanding that we receive Christ in so doing.

"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."  My study Bible comments that little ones include all who have childlike humility and simplicity, all who are poor in spirit.  

 

"Woe to the world because of offenses!  For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!  If your hand or foot causes you to sin, but 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."   My study Bible comments that this reference to mutilation is an illustration of decisive action in order to avoid sin.  Christ is not advocating literal amputation.  This is a reference also to harmful relationships of any kind that must be severed for the salvation of all parties (see Luke 14:26; 1 Corinthians 5:5).  

Jesus teaches the disciples the value of humility:  that is, the need to understand what we now might call gracious behavior.  This is how the power of grace works within us and among us, through humility.  It is how we develop the fruits of the Spirit, which St. Paul names as love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, and about which he says, "Against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).  My study Bible names the virtues of the Kingdom as humility, dependence, lowliness, simplicity, obedience, and a willingness to love and be loved.   Jesus tells these men who will be His bishops and the founders and leaders of His Church that their chief need is humility and gracious behavior; they must know how to receive the "little ones" in His name, as if they were receiving Him.  Abusive behavior comes in many forms.  He cautions them most strongly against abuse of power, when He says, "For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!  If your hand or foot causes you to sin, but 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."   A hand or foot wanders where it shouldn't go, trespasses over boundaries, reaches out to grab what doesn't belong to oneself or is improper to oneself, an eye looks with covetousness, selfishness, greed.  Jesus is speaking of habits that we indulge which cause us to sin, and specifically to abuse positions of power or authority, opportunities which -- instead of being good stewards -- may be used to exploit others or what belongs to them.  We still live in a time when we must guard ourselves against stepping over lines we shouldn't cross.  We will never lose our need for humility in our faith.  Notions of greatness which are worldly continue to be based on how much power and influence we have, how far we can extend our own wills over other people or things.  But what we need to seek is God's will, and God's kingdom, and God's glory.  In this is our joy.  And the only way to do that, really, remains through humility.  The way to do that begins with Jesus' words at His most trying and difficult challenge of His human life, "Not as I will, but as You will" (Matthew 26:39).  As He teaches us Himself, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven" (Matthew 7:21).  And this is how He teaches us to pray, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:9-15).  For us to renounce what is commonly referred to in popular culture as our own "ego" -- our own way of thinking, our own assumptions, our desires and passions -- and to seek God's will as best we can is how humility works.  We begin there, and we seek the Spirit's life for us in place of all the things we absorb from the world, all the wrong things we've learned, all the bad habits, the false assumptions, the things we don't really understand or haven't yet learned.  We seek God's way for us, and from there everything else is born as the fruits of the Spirit which may be at work in our lives.  But as we can read in today's reading, in Jesus' words to us, it all starts with humility and our capacity for gracious behavior, which most assuredly includes a recognition of the little ones and our own responsibility for caring for the world as Christ asks us to do, for finding His way and not our own, for receiving even ones with no power or "currency" at all as if we were receiving Christ.  This way of thinking stands the world and its notions of power and influence on their collective head.  But we seek a will that is not just greater than our own limitations, but one which will work in us and expand us, grow us in the glory of God and the fruits it may produce.  Let us always keep that in mind as we continue in our lives, and God's will expands us through our own humility.