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Gospel: Matthew 18: 1-5, 10, 12-14
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 becomes humble 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.
What is your opinion?
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Chapter 18 of Matthew’s Gospel deals with Christian ethics. Jesus tells us how we are to behave in this world, using two images – both of which should give us pause. He uses the image of a child and a sheep.
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“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven,” he says.
I think as we age, it’s easier for us to become pessimistic when we look at the state of our world today. Perhaps it hasn’t come together as purely as we had hoped or imagined as children.
Jesus tells us we have to “turn,” or perhaps return, to the innocence that once was. Just as when we were kids, we trusted our parents implicitly; we were arrestingly honest and humble. The Lord asks for the type of trusting spirit from us today.
There’s an added layer of responsibility here – not only to be humble and innocent, but also to, “not cause one of these little ones to sin.” As we age, we must remain wary of our hearts, minds, and tongues, taking care not to cause scandal to the innocent.
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Secondly, we are to see ourselves like sheep.
Sheep have a natural herding mentality. They cannot survive on their own. Yet as we age, we can find it easier to remain by ourselves, doing things on our own, pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps.
I see this often with the elderly – the refusal to ask for help; the reluctance to use a walker or cane; a type of ego that separates us from reality and from our community.
A more mature version of a sheep is to become a shepherd – one who leaves the ninety-nine in search of the one who is lost. You and I should never think in terms of crowds, or become obsessed with a spirituality of numbers; rather, think in terms of individuals.
Every soul is a child of God who, if lost, must be found.
Do I have the innocence of a child, trusting the Lord in all his ways? Do I have the heart of a shepherd, seeking the lost until they are found?
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The childlike and the shepherds, these are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
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Image credits: (1) Westerville FWB Church, YouTube (2) Adobe stock (3) Apologia