Matthew 18:1-6
Find a place and time free of distractions for the next 7-10 minutes. Sit comfortably and breathe deeply for a few seconds before you begin. As you breathe in, say the name of Jesus and become aware of his presence with you. As you breathe out, open your mind and heart to receive whatever Jesus has for you today.
Read Matthew 18:1-6 imagining you are one of Jesus’ followers coming to him with your question and listening to his answer.
Sometimes our questions reveal more than we wish they would. After all Jesus has taught and demonstrated to his disciples, an appropriate question might be, “How can we learn from you?” or “How can we be of use to you in your mission?” But the question they do ask reveals fears and motivations that are part of a larger problem – a way of thinking about power and privilege that Jesus identifies as “sin.”
Stop to think about the question the disciples asked. “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”
From all you know from your time in the Gospels, how would you answer this question? And how does your own view of power and privilege line up with what you have learned thus far from Jesus about the nature of God’s Kingdom? Sit with these questions for a while and talk to Jesus about your thoughts.
Read Matthew 18:1-6 again noticing anything Jesus might be saying to you through his answer.
He “called a little child to him…” , a little being with no status and no expertise…, a small human whose only function is to learn and grow and be. And Jesus says that being great in God’s Kingdom means becoming like this.
Jesus calls us to a point of vulnerability where we recognize that apart from him we are helpless to do anything that matters. And he calls us to welcome others who long to find a better way of being in the world and teach them his way - the way of the Kingdom of God which stands in direct contrast to the way of the world.
When we fail to embrace the way of the Kingdom and instead perpetuate false worldly notions about power and privilege, we harm not only ourselves but all who are watching as well.
This is a difficult message to embrace because it goes against the accepted norms of our culture, but try for a few moments to meditate on Jesus’ message in this passage and pay attention to anything he might want to say to you through it.
Is there anything Jesus might be asking you to change or do today?
Will you?
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