Reflection III

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.
And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you
will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position
of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one
such child in my name welcomes me. (Matthew 18: 1- 5)

The other parallel to this text occurs in Mark; in it the mother of the Zebedee brothers comes to Jesus
petitioning special places in the kingdom for her sons. I wonder if Matthew adapted this text with a little
more sensitivity and less competitiveness, softening the edge of obliviousness of the disciples! In all cases,
Jesus’s response is unexpected. He shifts the focus from competition to humility. In Middle Eastern
cultures, the elderly are held to a place of respect and honor, while children are considered less worthy
of respect. Jesus’s action and words hence are counter-cultural. Children –the least- in the society are
elevated to be first in the kingdom of heaven.

In light of Jesus’s response to such a model of success, is there an ill-advised spirit of competition in our
church/denomination that we need to be alert to? Knowing how humans are, I believe there is! The
society in which we exist, it seems, relates better to Mark’s story than Matthew’s. It is driven by
competition; and accomplishment is measured by wealth, privilege and authority. It isn’t so in the
kingdom of heaven; Jesus reminds his hearers, but the least and the marginalized hold places of honor.
May our ears be tuned to his message.

Who does and does not have power in this {council, committee, etc.?

This is the third of five devotionals intended for reflection published by the North Central California Presbytery as part of the Connectional Revitalization process. We invite you to share your reflections with us by emailing pastor@parkviewpc.org and pastoralresident@parkviewpc.org.