A kingdom, where and when?
Before we get to the meal of our text on greatness, we should probably clear up the place and the time. Where are we trying to enter? Where are these lowly ones, these welcoming ones, these upside-down-greatest ones existing, hanging out, doing there thing? If you’re paying attention – are you paying attention? – you should be saying, “Pastor, duh! It’s the kingdom of heaven!” Good answer!
But here I have to confess that the church and particularly pastors do a poor job of listening to Jesus about what he came to do and where he came to do it. So before we even get into what we’re supposed to think about greatness or do about it we need to clear up one bit of common misunderstanding or popular distortion about where we’re supposed to do it.
This misunderstanding story of “where” looks something like this (this is what many people outside the church believe that the church believes):
We’re all here on planet earth – a beautiful and tragic place. And on the earth are me, you, and everyone else – all living our lives. Sometimes we do well – sometimes not so well – but the real question – the end game is all about where we go when we die. And so, we are confronted with a choice – a fork in the road – or two doors - where we encounter Jesus and are supposed to make a decision about which fork or which door we take – the kingdom of heaven – some celestial place with clouds, harps and singing, or the kingdom of darkness – some burning place with pitchforks and a subterranean torture chamber, you get the picture. And so they hear this passage talking about “heaven” and imagine a one-time decision that is fundamentally about the next life and away from the earth.
A lot of non-Christians think this is what the Bible teaches and maybe you’re here and thinking – “Pastor, isn’t this what the Bible teaches?” But I think this is wrong, or at least insufficient, and the main problem with this view is both Jesus’ own life and teachings and the story of Scripture itself. This end-time geography is so shot through with half-truths that it has us imagining a different story and thinking about the wrong place. And so we need to come back to Jesus with fresh eyes, good questions, and a humble heart. And if we do , I believe that that we will rediscover a compelling story with Jesus at the center that is happening right now in this place.
Last week I spoke about the words Gehenna and Hell and pointed out that James and Jesus spoke of these realities being present and on the earth. If we once again return to Jesus – we discover over and over again that he is talking about the kingdom of God / kingdom of heaven – the rule of God – the reign of God – that is happening through the story of Israel and Israel’s God, Yahweh, the God of the universe, and Jesus’ own ministry, in the present, on the earth, which people are being invited into now and not merely when they die. Mark’s Gospel begins with Jesus saying:
What is the good news? It’s what he just said, “The kingdom of God has come.” And Jesus will teach people about this kingdom-of-heavenly goodness, invite people to enter this kingdom, express that it is “within,” and “upon,” and “among” people – now - and teach people to pray for this kingdom – to be present on the earth. In Matthew’s Gospel we are to pray, “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Now, I’m not saying that this doesn’t have eternal significance. It does! But, I think it is critical to acknowledge that when Jesus is talking about kingdom-of-God “greatness,” he is expressing God’s will, the gospel, that is meant to be “on earth as it is in heaven” now. Friends, I want you to believe the gospel. I invite you to enter the kingdom of heaven today. I hope you make a decision to give your life to Jesus, to follow Jesus, to surrender to Jesus, crucified and risen, and you do so now. I want you to inhabit the gospel and the kingdom of heaven now, on the earth, by welcoming children, so that children in Gaza receive food, so that children in Africa receive needed meds. They need the kingdom of heaven here and now! Do you get it?
Jesus is inviting us to “enter the kingdom heaven” which is happening now and on into eternity through an attitude of humility and exercise of welcoming little ones.
Enter God’s way by voluntarily going low.
In the ancient world, children did not signify purity and innocence. They signified powerlessness. Without Social Security or Medicare, children were often vulnerable and insignificant, and valued for their future economic contributions. They were not ignored, unloved, and unappreciated, but they were not the center and didn’t get to determine their own way. We get that right? I mean we understand that attitudes towards children and child-rearing practices have certainly changed but the fundamental reality of powerlessness remains. A child doesn’t ultimately determine what they do or where they go. And Jesus is asking us, not ironically, to choose that way, to place ourselves in solidarity with those who are powerless “like” little children, which was also a term for a slave. So entering the kingdom of heaven means modeling our lives on the life of Jesus – or, as Paul says, “In your relationships with one another; have the same mindset as Christ Jesus . . . by taking the very nature of a servant.” When we do that we are entering and expressing God’s kingdom, the gospel, which defines love as solidarity, and challenging the kingdom of darkness, Gehenna, that loves to separate and silo deserving people from undeserving people, greater from lesser people. And the way to undermine such a wicked system is to join with the little ones in need.
Without such solidarity and humility, pride and arrogance often masquerade as love. I once heard of a church that would go down to Mexico and build houses for people. They went down, made a plan, and even spoke with the family that was to live there. But a dispute arose about where to put the bathroom and the family expressed that the current plan wouldn’t work for reasons that were deeply cultural, though I can’t remember what they were. The church, however, refused to change their plan, refused to listen and relinquish their own vision, and built the house the way they wanted it. My missionary friend who told me the story says that no one will live in it. Friends, greatness that privileges the desires of those with power over the wishes of the poor and powerless creates a house that no one will want to live in. Refusing to serve the poor and little ones without voluntarily placing yourself at their mercy, will not allow others or yourself to enter the kingdom of heaven. Don’t be great. Be little, be like Jesus, and witness the greatness of God.
Enter God’s way by welcoming little ones
Jesus’ comments and his parallelism with the use of the two whoevers (vss. 4 & 5) stresses that this is a social activity as much as a spiritual attitude. We are to “take the lowly position” by offering “welcome” to those who are powerless. The action defines the attitude. Now, I won’t be so silly to tell you exactly what that should be because I imagine that it will look different for many of us who find ourselves in different social settings but it must be something that you do. What will you do? And yet, Jesus does define one activity that is critically linked to “taking” the lowly position – literally welcoming a child in his name (vs. 5). BTW “in his name” means per his instructions.
I know this message about welcome is a message that I speak about a lot. If it feels too familiar, don’t blame me, blame Jesus and our stubborn hearts for needing to hear it over and over again. The doormat to the kingdom of God reads both ways: “Welcome(,) Little Ones!” Little ones are those who enter and enter by welcoming little ones. That is God’s redemptive, kingdom work. The gospel and welcome - now – in this life - are one.
But here’s the thing, perhaps, that I haven’t said enough, that we need to remember. It’s not comfortable. Taking the lowly position and welcoming the lowly, the lonely, the down-and-out, the dirty, the drug-addled, the despairing, the whining, isn’t easy or romantic or thrilling. Welcoming little ones as a little one will require that you divest yourself of your own autonomy, some of your rights, some of your preferences. It will mean that you don’t necessarily get to pick, or have your way, or get what you want. Welcoming little ones, as Jesus did, from the lowly position means that you don’t come first, may not get to decide. The three-year-old does not get to determine what happens at every moment and Jesus tells us that that is the role that we should take in order to welcome and enter the kingdom of heaven. And remember Jesus’ welcome went all the way of giving his life.
So perhaps we should end with a couple of prayerful questions to help us enter God’s kingdom, follow Jesus’ way, welcome his will, and believe the gospel. 1) Who are the “little ones,” the powerless ones, the ones in need with little autonomy, in my life? Take a moment and ask God. 2) Second, what might it look like to welcome them from a lowly position? Ask the Spirit to show you.
And finally, if you don’t have an answer, perhaps the answer is that you should talk with Pastor Caitlin and Shawna Clowser, the new director of Community Corner, and explore volunteer opportunities to express your servant’s heart by serving the kids here. Take a moment to prayerfully consider that. I’m not asking you if you want to, I’m asking you to listen to Jesus. I’m asking you to ditch the adult table, recognize that our communion altar is a kid’s table, and let it define for you the lowly position to take.
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