Our worth and dignity
“We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!” (President Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation Appointing a National Fast Day Washington, D.C. March 30, 1863)
False pride, arrogance, self-righteousness are themes in all of our readings today. In our gospel, the disciple’s wanted others to think they were “somebody important”. They were busy discussing their great positions in the Kingdom of God. Jesus stopped that mistake in a hurry and presented them one who was considered to be a “nobody” in their culture and era.
“Whoever receives this child in my name receives me.”
One of Jesus’ main points in the gospel for this weekend was to call people of his days to reconsider how they viewed human life—innocent life. Children were possessions of their father—certainly not protected –some were even sold as household or field laborers to provide income for the family. Children certainly were not required to be educated. During the time of the disciples over 50% of babies died at delivery or disease, the mortality rate saw 60% of children die before the age of 16. With such risks to life it may have been difficult for some parents to become emotionally involved with children—perhaps from fear of losing them. And so Jesus presented the disciples a child.
Jesus’ purpose in referring to a child as accepting him is not to give innocence a high value but to give high value to the acceptance of those without power. When Jesus said, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me”, he was once again identifying himself with the most vulnerable rung of society–and telling his disciples (as well as us) to do the same.
When Jesus called a child to the disciples, he similarly was expressing the humility of his position in the community and his religion. Jesus was also warning his disciples to understand their positions in society by following his call and ways to live. They are servants of the very bottom of the ladder—servants of people in need. Jesus was once again aligning himself with the marginalized and powerless–telling us to do the same. He also tells us that one of the greatest things we can do is to care for those who are powerless and vulnerable; for as we do we are caring for him.
That care for the Lord begins with caring for children. Perhaps there is no greater responsibility or profession that can have as much importance as that of being loving Christian parents, grandparents, or a single mother or father. Parents and family members are doing something more sacred and far greater than they can imagine forming a child into a Christian—you are grounding a human being in God’s love, and you are influencing the community—the world and its future.
You may have to use more psychology than a clinical psychologist to convince your teenage daughter that she is lovable. More positive discipline than your patience may allow with your son who refuses to come in from playing with his friends. At times, when the kids are particularly trying, you may wonder if the struggle is worth it. We need to do all we can to support good parenting and helping form children in faith.
“Whoever welcomes a little child like this welcomes me.”
To welcome in Jesus’ name suggests that we too are to stand with those without status and rank as we serve persons who need our care—regardless of age. Yet, at the same time– we too are little ones before God—no matter how big a position you hold or how old you are, we are children of God. We express that dependence on God as we offer at the altar our lives in all their complexity and confusion—and seek our Father’s guidance.
As children, we express our trust that “God will take care” of us. At Communion time we receive Christ and ask Him to instruct us at this stage of our life’s journey: what is God’s will for us? He will give us Himself to help us contemplate the power of sacrificial love. Together we ask Christ in the Eucharist today, to heal the brokenness in our midst and make us like the Christians Saint James describes in his Letter:
“…first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity.”
In our child-like dependence on God we extend Him in love to others—we share what we receive and welcome any little one in need —-knowing that all blessings come from God.
Paraphrasing President Lincoln: we are not intoxicated with unbroken success, we have not become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, we are not too proud to pray to the God that made us—we recognize that we are all dependent children of God—and we are all in this blessed journey together.
Welcome the children in Christ, Fr. Gordon
In the box:” …the very bottom of the ladder—servants of people in need.”