Matthew 18:1-11
“Greatness in the Kingdom of
Heaven”
Ask most Christians familiar
with the Bible about Matthew 18, and they will tell you it’s the forgiveness
chapter. You know, “When your brother
sins against you, go and show him his fault just between the two fo you” and
“how many times should I forgive my brother, 7?
No, 70x7”.
But we forget there’s a lot
more packed in here. The forgiveness
emphasis is in the last part of the chapter.
Here in the beginning the question surrounds what is greatness in the
kingdom of God? And in answer, Jesus
discusses the place of children in His kingdom.
Also, today is St. Michael
and All Angels day – and so we have that topic to weave in to our
proclamation.
I suppose some might have
tried to answer the question, “Who’s the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” by
answering: the angels! Yes, the mighty
spiritual beings that comprise the heavenly armies of God! Michael, the Archangel, perhaps, is the
greatest! He threw Satan down from
Heaven, so he must be pretty great, right?
And all the other angels.
Powerful and glorious beings.
You know, angels in the Bible
are not the soft and gentle creatures they’ve been depicted as in modern times
– precious moments figurines and babies with wings spreading rainbows upon
butterflies. No, angels are the
soldiers, the heavenly special forces of God – they wield flaming swords and
their voices shake the building. They
are not to be trifled with. A great
prince among the angels, Michael is shown, in Daniel 10 and Revelation 12 – as
the general of these forces, who casts Satan down from heaven at God’s command.
Angels are also the
messengers of God, and they appear in Scripture especially when God’s plan of
salvation takes a major step forward.
They are particularly associated with Jesus – they sing at his birth,
they adorn his empty tomb. They minister
to him in wilderness and garden.
It’s probably a good thing
that the angels remain hidden, unseen, for the most part. Otherwise, we humans might be tempted to
accord them the greatness of God, make them into idols, or at the very least a
major distraction from the God whom we both serve. Even St. John, when he saw a mighty angel in
his vision, and bowed down to worship – “You must not do that! I am a fellow
servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship
God.” (Rev. 19:10)
And so, in our Gospel reading
today, when someone asks about greatness, Jesus doesn’t produce an angel, or
make reference to St. Michael. He plops
a child in their midst. And he talks
about humility. Humility is greatness in
his kingdom.
It’s not hard to see how our
culture has elevated children in all the wrong ways – placing them on a
pedestal of innocence, as if they have no original sin. Parents letting children run the show, make
the decisions, determine their own religion, their own school, even their own
gender. Children are less and less
disciplined and more and more idolized and this is not good for the world and
it is not good for those children.
But rather, look at what
children lack – knowledge.
Strength. Wisdom. The means to support themselves. It is in these humble characteristics Jesus
sees the qualities to be admired in his kingdom. For when we come to him, and to his Father
with such humility – admitting our own lack of wisdom and strength, then we can
receive him on his own terms. Then we
know the grace and mercy that flow from the truly great one.
Jesus is, of course, the
greatest in the kingdom. He humbles
himself most profoundly, even unto death, even death upon a cross. He makes himself the lowest, the nothing, the
servant of all, even of children.
And where the world would
alternately esteem children in all the wrong ways and despise children for all
the wrong reasons, Jesus holds a special place for children. He says receiving a child in his name means
receiving him. And woe to the one who
would lead a little child to sin – but rather we ought to protect and nurture and teach our children well.
And then, as a sort of an
aside, Jesus discusses temptation. It is
a dangerous thing! It’s sure to
come. It’s even necessary. But woe to the one through whom temptation
comes!
Some would say Jesus simply speaks
in hyperbole about cutting off hands and feet and poking out eyes that cause us
to sin. That he’s using exaggerated
language to make a point. But I submit
here, it’s just the opposite. If you
really could have 100% assurance of eternal salvation, wouldn’t it be worth
your hands, your eyes, your feet? Ah, if
it were only that simple. To take Jesus’
point one step further, it’s our whole nature that causes us to sin. It’s out of the heart that comes all sorts of
evil, he says. And who can live without
a heart? So would we cut our entire selves
off? Would we, indeed, die – in order to
be free of sin?
Yes! That’s exactly it! We must die and be reborn. We must be baptized, and buried with Christ,
only to be raised with him. We must
count ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. You see the Christian faith and life is not a
matter of refurbishment, refreshment, slap some new paint on that old barn and
cover up the wear and tear. Rather,
Christ makes us entirely new through death and resurrection. Brand new – even like a little child.
And Jesus, for his part, He
himself is cut off – cut off from God, and from life – to make this life
ours. He gives himself entirely – eyes,
hands, feet, head and heart – all of him goes to the cross for all of us. All of him is thrown under the wrath of God
so we are spared from the hell of fire.
All of him bears the millstone of guilt.
He is cast into the depths. For
all of us, adults and children, sinners alike.
And so Jesus circles back to
the children at the end. “Don’t despise
one of these little ones. For I tell you
that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in
heaven.” And this statement is a
fascinating claim indeed.
Some have taken this passage
as foundation for the idea that people, especially children, have “guardian
angels”. And perhaps that is so – for
angels are ministering spirits who serve God by serving us.
Or maybe in a more general
sense, it refers to the fact that the angels serve the people of God, and
especially children. And if you think
the children are nothing, or you would despise the lowly children – remember
that even they are served by the mighty angels who are so honored to see the
face of God the Father – something no human has done or could do.
And this, too, disputes
another popular misnomer about angels.
No, we Christians don’t become angels when we die. Rather, in the resurrection we become the
glorified humans we were meant by God to be.
We assume the fullness of the image of God – including the righteousness
of Christ. And we share, also, in a
humanity with the very Son of God himself – and who will remain a human
forever. No mere angel can say
that. No angel, in Scripture, ever wears
a crown. But we humans are promised a
share in the reign of our king. So when
our time comes, and the angels carry us home to heaven, we don’t become one of
them, but rather we remain human and will remain so forever.
There is much more we could
say about the angels – these messengers from on high. And there is much more we could say about
children – our role models for humility in the kingdom. But on this Sunday of St. Michael and All
Angels, let us find comfort in the God who appoints angels to our service, and
regards even the little children – receiving them in his name. Let us become always like those little
children, humble and lowly before God. And
may we ever be found in Christ, the greatest of the kingdom, who makes himself
low that we might be exalted. Who comes
to save us, who were lost.
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