Gospel MT 18:1-5, 10
The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”
Reflection:
The question,”Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” revealed to Jesus the mindset of the disciples.
He saw that they viewed their relationship with Him as a potential pathway to attain personal greatness in heaven.
The disciples had missed the point, and Jesus immediately made clear their wrong thinking.
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”
The disciples were thinking in terms of what the “world” defines as success: the accumulation of wealth, power and prestige.
In today’s gospel, Jesus begins by telling his disciples,
“Unless you turn…..”
He is telling the disciples and us if we are to be “Christ on earth,” we must reverse our thinking.
Rather than thinking in terms of attaining greatness by accumulating wealth and securing positions of power and prestige, we need to think in terms of humbling ourselves by becoming servants.
“Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”
Back in the day when I was president of My Brother’s Keeper, my 7 year old grandson Nathan was my ever present side-kick.
One day during the busyness of the Christmas rush, Nathan asked me, “Grandpa, what do I have to do to become president of My Brother’s Keeper?”
I replied, “You have to be willing to do whatever needs to be done. If there’s a need for someone to give a tour, you must be willing. If the floor needs to be swept or trash picked up, you must be willing. No matter how important or unimportant, you must be willing to do the job.”
Without hesitation, Nathan said, “I can do that.”
A few days later I passed by Nathan as he was happily sorting toys by age group. I saw it as a good time to teach him the difference between an idea and the reality.
I said, “Nathan, the toilet in the men’s room is plugged up. Please grab a plunger and go clear it.”
His face fell. Getting to his feet slowly, he trudged in the direction of the men’s room.
When he arrived, he found that the toilet was working fine.
Nathan is now fifteen. He still goes out on the My Brother’s Keeper trucks, helping to deliver furniture and food. But, he has never again asked me about what he has to do to become president of My Brother’s Keeper.
“The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Matthew 23: 11-12