THE POWER OF A CHILD
These days our news headlines are all about the US presidential elections. The job, for what is apparently the most powerful person on earth, is up for grabs and with that comes personal attacks by the candidates on each other with very little regard to the real issues or policies.
Wind back 2,000 years or so, and it appears that things were no different. The disciples, after hearing Jesus talk about how he was going to die and then rise again, got into their own power struggle as to who was the greatest among them and likely to succeed Jesus. Instead of listening and understanding what Jesus had to say, the apostles became distracted much the way I do when I am praying or trying to spend some quiet time in the presence of God.
As always, Jesus is a few steps ahead. Despite asking them what they were arguing about, they remain silent. So, what does Jesus do? He takes a child, plonks it in the middle of them, gives the child a hug and says be like this – pretty dramatic!
When I was growing up, children had to be seen and not heard and probably more so during the time of Jesus. The message Jesus was trying to convey to his disciples and to us, is that we must welcome the powerless. He himself would be powerless when he came before the religious leaders and Roman authorities on his way to his death and resurrection. Throughout his Ministry, Jesus associated with the powerless, the poor, the sick and those possessed. Jesus, of course did have power as we read in the gospels from Monday and Tuesday last week when he raised from the dead the son and servant of the widow of Nain and centurion respectively – this is absolute power but did not corrupt Jesus. In both cases Jesus showed empathy, love, and respect and most of all service to the needs of others. The child is a reminder to all of us that by welcoming the powerless, we welcome God, and we must not seek greatness but rather service to others.
Our neighbour Emma, stuck her head over the fence last week Sunday at about 11.00am to tell me that she now has two onsies but did not get to wear them for the street collection, had a late night out on Saturday, that her dad was planning to paint the bathroom and had gone off to Mitre 10 and asked if I could go and ring her front door bell to scare her mum into getting ready for her play date at 11:30. Emma is 5 going on 25, our conversations are unhinged – she says everything at pace without a thought for what I may think or how it may portray her. Jesus invites us to do the same – be childlike when we are praying (talking to him) and living our lives.
“Greatness is not to be found in being masters of others,
but rather in being servants of others, especially the weak”.
