Readings:
Ezekiel 2:8-3:4
Matthew 18:1-5,10,12-14
Reflection:
I love Mondays. Mondays are our day with Jack, our youngest grandchild, who is 18 months old. Joyful, playful, trusting, affectionate, funny, and inquisitive, Jack has yet to learn about human avarice, malice, competitiveness, jealousy, etc. He hasn’t a clue about status and will happily relate to anyone.
Today, the disciples are preoccupied with status. Like Velcro, the material that has all but replaced shoelaces, at least for kids and oldies, they stick with Jesus because they see him as their ticket to heavenly status. They are keen to reserve their places in the Kingdom and are asking Jesus what they might be eligible for, as reward for being his followers. They’ve entirely missed the points he has recently made (Matthew 16:21-23; 17:22-23), about the suffering and death that awaits him in Jerusalem and that following him entails denying themselves and taking up their own crosses (16:24-25).
So, Jesus brings a child among them, and tells them that unless they become like that child, they will never even see the Kingdom. Unlike Jack, children in the time of Christ, had no status or rights and were entirely dependent on the good will of others to care for them. So, becoming like child meant letting go of power, status and ego, becoming vulnerable and being completely dependent on God. That’s the measure of greatness in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Then he presses the point, “Whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me” (Matthew 18:5). And not only children; Jesus identifies with all who are without power or status. The way we treat them is in effect, the way we treat him (10:40-42; 25:34-46).
For good measure, Matthew refers to the parable of the lost sheep. Here, Christ tells the disciples that God cares not only for little ones and for the lowly but even for the low—the erring, the morally bankrupt. That’s a tough one for a world that loves to hate our villains, yet Christ does not shy away. They, too, are precious in the eyes of God. How do we even begin to digest this? For a start, we can acknowledge and make amends for our own failures (Matthew 7:3-5), and then we can slowly begin to look upon others as Christ looks upon them.
This all seems a long way off from selecting the choice seats in heaven!
Brian Norman has been associated with the Passionists in various ways since he was three weeks old when he squared off with Fr Placid Millay CP over the baptismal font at St Brigid’s, Marrickville.