Jesus has some dramatic object lessons in today's readings.
Within his culture in that time and place, children had no status. There were no children's rights and no advocates for children. The infant mortality rate was high and childhood illnesses were likely fatal. Families were large because you played the odds on having some survive.
I don't think we understand in 21st century America what this would be like emotionally. How would we distance ourselves from our children if we knew their chance for survival was much lower? Within my own family, my grandmother had eleven children, eight of which survived to adulthood. I know from her letters to her mother that the losses were devastating to her. But I also know that it doesn't happen as often today as it did then. If it were more a normal part of our lives, would it be easier to handle?
I don't know but I do know that children were not valued the same in the past as they are today.
When Jesus asks his disciples to become like little children, it would have required for them to have a dependence on others like they hadn't understood since they were that age. I believe that Jesus is giving a different attitude toward greatness.
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| Is this how God sees us anyway? |
Just in case we don't truly understand, he identifies with children. As we look at Jesus as God incarnate, we see Jesus tell us that children are like Jesus incarnate. An adult welcoming a child in that day would have been absurd.
Christianity moves us forward in the valuing of humanity when he then speaks of stumbling blocks. Our own lives are forfeit if we get in the way of children. This would have been opposite of the thinking of that day - a real head-scratcher.
Then Jesus prioritizes our faith over our independence. Losing a hand, a foot or an eye would make it unlikely that you could work to feed yourself, let alone a family that may be depending on you. To be self-sufficient is still valued to this day. Jesus knows this is our particular pride that may get in our way. It is better to be maimed and to know humility than to be whole and to imagine that you are beyond needing God in your life.
The disciples want to know about greatness.
Jesus stuns them all by basically telling them you are asking the wrong question.
I think it is natural for people to want to excel. We look to those who do as inspirations and examples. And yet, what if we pursued humility with the same vigor?
I almost find this laughable as I write it.
And so maybe it is something we need to think on or pray on for a while longer...
Prayer for the day:
God, we want to welcome you.
We want to sit at your feet and have you explain all things to us.
We want our questions answered.
Would you surprise us by your answers?
Would they unsettle us rather than provide comfort?
Sometimes we need a second, third or fourth chance to get it right.
Don't give up on us. We are often like children in this regard.
Amen.
Photo by Audrey via Flickr.com. Used under the Creative Commons license.
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