Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and
from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Text: (Matthew
18:1-11)
See that
you do not despise one of these my little ones. For I tell you that in heaven
their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.
Prayer: Heavenly
Father, we come to you in boldness and confidence as your dear children,
calling on you, our dear Father, and knowing that the angels you have sent to
protect us are always gazing upon your face. Let your Word be taught in its
truth and purity, and help us to lead holy lives according to it, through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
As we celebrate the church festival of St Michael and all angels, our
gospel reading today says nothing about St Michael—we have to read our Old
Testament reading and the reading from Revelation if we want to learn
particularly about him. And our Gospel reading is a reading which says very
little about angels, except for this one verse, verse 10: “See that you do not
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.”
This is a text, which teaches us about what Christians throughout the
centuries have called “guardian angels”. But who are the angels guarding? The
text says: “these little ones”. So who are these little ones that Jesus is talking
about?
Let’s go back to the beginning of our reading, where we read:
At that time the disciples came
to Jesus, saying, “Who is [greater] in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to
him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you,
unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of
heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is [greater] in the kingdom of
heaven.”
Our reading begins by telling us when this conversation took place. It
says, “At that time.” At what time? In
the previous chapter, St Matthew tells us about the event where Peter, James
and John were taken off by themselves and saw Jesus transfigured with brilliant
light before their eyes standing together with Moses and Elijah. The cloud came
from heaven and covered their eyes, and they heard the voice of God the Father
saying, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
Now just before our reading, St Matthew tells us of a very unusual
event that is very rarely talked about in church. We are told about where a
tax-collector goes up to Peter and asks him, “Does your teacher not pay the
tax?” And Peter says, “Yes.” And then Jesus sends Peter on a very strange
errand. He says: Go to the sea and cast
in a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth
you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.
Now at this time, after Peter, James and John had received this
special privilege of seeing Jesus transfigured on the mountain (even though the
other disciples wouldn’t have known what they saw), and Peter was sent on this
special mission, to fish for a shekel, the other disciples were probably
starting to think that Jesus was playing favourites.
So we read: At that time the
disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is [greater] in the kingdom of the
heaven?”
It’s a strange question, and it’s not really the right question to
ask. But at the same time, the disciples know something very profound: Jesus
himself knows the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. He is the world expert on
the subject, and they know that he knows the answer to their question. So they
are doing the right thing here, because they are asking their question in the
right place.
Many people at that time thought that Jesus was bringing a earthly
kingdom, in the same sense as a kind of earthly king, like Julius Caesar or
King Herod or someone like that. But this is completely wrong. Jesus says to
Pontius Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world.” I’ve come to bring a
completely different kind of kingdom. Jesus says in Luke 18, “The kingdom of
God is in the midst of you”, or we could translate it, “within you.” St Paul
says in Romans 14: “The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking
but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
When Jesus says the kingdom of God is “within you”, it doesn’t mean
that it begins in you. Remember
Jesus tells parables about people that find the kingdom of heaven, like a man
finding buried treasure and a merchant finding a pearl of great price. The
kingdom of heaven comes when God sends you the Holy Spirit so that you believe
the living words of Jesus, and live a godly life according to that those words.
And Jesus is also the Word who became flesh, so that when His words are spoken
to us in Holy Baptism, his words also become flesh in us, and we are united
with Jesus in the flesh, we are made part of his body and we are made citizens
of his kingdom, even now, before we have died, we are made partakers of the
kingdom of heaven. We even eat his body and drink his blood as a real, physical
participation in God’s kingdom, and Jesus gives us the Lord’s Supper for the
ongoing forgiveness of our sins to give us confidence and encouragement as his
citizens in his kingdom.
As you know, many Christians don’t believe in the real presence of
Jesus’ body and blood in the Lord’s Supper. And it’s many of the same
Christians who don’t believe that we are part of the kingdom of heaven now, and
that it’s only going to be in the future. There’s something in the language of
these people that means that they continually contradict themselves. They know
that the Jesus is their Lord and King, but in a way that maybe he is ruling our
hearts but not actually ruling the world with the church firmly fixed at the
bottom of the cross.
When the angels came down from heaven at Christmas time, they sang,
“Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom he is
pleased.” Many people don’t believe that Jesus brought peace on earth at all,
and that we’re only looking forward to it in the future. They believe that
Jesus will reign for 1000 years after the so-called “rapture”, and that this is
the real kingdom. People read the Book of Revelation by itself without really
listening to the gospels, and then twist everything around to fit. Basically,
they believe that Jesus is stuck in heaven and is simply not here on earth.
They think that the church on earth in all its weakness and sin and trouble is
not the kingdom of God at all. But you see: the weak, humble church is the
kingdom of God, because Jesus is there, ruling in the midst of his enemies,
ruling in sinners and ruling through sinners and ruling even through sin,
bringing his kingdom to sinners through his powerful word and his life-giving
sacraments.
And so, the disciples ask Jesus who is greater in the kingdom of
heaven, who is best, who is the going to rule over others?
And we read: And calling to him
a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless
you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child is [greater] in the kingdom of heaven.”
Jesus gives a threat where he says, “You will not enter the kingdom of
heaven.” He is not just talking about when we die or about the end of the
world, but he is talking about now, when the Holy Spirit is given. Will you
believe like a child that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead? Will you believe
the women who come back from the tomb with their spices telling you that the
tomb is empty? Will you believe Thomas’s testimony that he saw the pierced
hands and side of Jesus, and was even invited to stick his hand in, and confess
with him that Jesus is your Lord and your God? Remember Jesus reaches out and
blesses you when he says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have
believed.”
Being like a child means being humble. “Whoever humbles himself like this child is greater in the kingdom of
heaven.” You can’t elevate yourself, because you would be elevating
yourself above Jesus’ word. You don’t have anything to contribute to the church
because Jesus has already spoken everything the church needs to hear, and he is
the one who created you together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. There is
simply no option except humility. May God send us the Holy Spirit to create
child-like humility in us every day.
But after this, Jesus goes further not just to teach us about being
like a child, but he tells us what he thinks about children themselves, and
teaches us his own “theology of children”, if you like.
He says: Whoever receives one
such child in my name receives me.
Listen to these words very carefully. Whether people believe in the
real presence of Christ’s body and blood in the Lord’s Supper will effect very
much how they hear these words.
People will say, “It’s impossible that Christ’s body and blood could
be in the Lord’s Supper, because he’s at the right hand of God.” Not true—the
right hand of God is everywhere, and Jesus body and blood can be wherever he
promises it to be. People would also say, “It’s impossible that if we received
a child in Jesus’ name that we would actually be receiving Jesus himself.” Not
true—the right hand of God is everywhere, and Jesus can choose to be received
through whichever person he promises to be received through. Here, he promises
you that if you receive a child in his name, you actually receive him in his
human flesh.
Children are still sinners. They are conceived and born in sin, they
need to be baptised, they need discipline and training in what is right and
wrong. But even so, Jesus tells you that “whoever receives one such child in my
name receives me.”
These words are wonderful and glorious if we really think about them,
and they should encourage us to take notice and bless and nourish and love all
the children in the world if only our arms were wide enough. But Jesus puts
children in our own families, in our own churches, in our own towns and areas.
Job says, “You poured me out like milk and curdled me like cheese.” God
continually curdles “new cheese” every day. An individualistic society though
hates children and will always hate children. But Jesus wants to create in us
through his Holy Spirit such a love for children that is alongside the love
with have for Jesus himself.
“Whoever receives one such child
in my name receives me.”
Then Jesus gives a very severe warning and describes to us what people
deserve who hate children, who scandalise children, and who cause them to sin.
He says: “Whoever causes of
these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have
a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of
the sea. Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that
temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! And if your
hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better
for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands to be thrown into
the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it
away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be
thrown into the hell of fire.”
Jesus knows full well that there will never be an earthly government
or a magistrate’s court anywhere in the world that will throw someone off a
boat with the rock around his neck for causing a child to sin. No Christian
anywhere ever brings themselves to the point where they start cutting off their
limbs. Nevertheless, this is exactly what people deserve. The greatest sins in
our world today are committed against children. Don’t try to escape the
conviction of sin which the Holy Spirit wants to speak with you about your
failures, but realise also that there is no repentance if don’t acknowledge
that we deserve to punished for our sin. We say in the confession, “We deserve
your punishment in time and in eternity.”
But thank God that he doesn't deal with us as we deserve: we also need to remember that through Jesus’ suffering and death,
our sins have been cast into the deepest sea. Our old self has been put to
death in the waters of Holy Baptism with a millstone tied around its neck, with
no mercy. Micah 7:19 says: “You will cast all our sins into the depths of the
sea.”
Jesus has taken the punishment of the world with nails through his
hands and feet so that our hands and feet need not be cut off in payment for
our sins.
The littlest of children are so ready and willing to admit their sin
and cry about it. They are so quickly ashamed when they are caught doing wrong.
They don’t have the poker face that comes with years of experience. But they
also love presents and love to receive gifts. Jesus gives you his forgiveness
every day. He has baptised you and all your sins are done away with and
cancelled. It’s the example of a child that comes running to snatch the gift
from their parents’ hands and run off with it with so much happiness and joy.
This is what Jesus wants us to do with the forgiveness of sins: to receive it
daily like a child.
But hang on: what about the angels? I thought this was St Michael and
All Angels, not St Michael and All Children!
Well, Jesus says: See that you
do not 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.
In all their vulnerability, the guardian angels of these little ones
are always joyfully watching our heavenly Father’s face. Angels are always
looking after these little ones: the children, the sick, the vulnerable, the
persecuted, the suffering, the depressed, the sad, the lonely, the poor, the
weak, the abused, the down-trodden, the crushed.
Their angels are always looking at the face of Jesus’ Father. Not just
any old angels, but their angels.
If you want to see the angels at work, look at where the church is
suffering the most and where it is the most vulnerable. The kingdom of heaven,
Jesus’ own kingdom, is always a kingdom under the cross. It is always a weak
kingdom in the eyes of the world, because it always has a king who is weak in
the eyes of the world, with his crown of thorns on his head and his lashings on
his back. But he is a king who is attended by all the hosts of heaven. He is
the King of Glory and the Lord of Hosts. And we are the kingdom that rejoices
when the blessed Lord of Hosts comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the
highest!
Amen.
Come Holy Spirit and impress the words of God deep in our hearts, so
that we may rejoice in the presence of our risen Lord Jesus together with St
Michael and All Angels. Amen.
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