The
disciples approached Jesus and said, "Who is the greatest in the
Kingdom of heaven?" He called
a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, "Amen,
I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the
Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this
child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child
such as this in my name receives me. "See that you do not despise
one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father."
for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father."
Peter wanted Jesus
to exercise his power as a military messiah
that would put the smackdown on the
Romans. For Peter, Jesus could be the Ultimate
Galilean Ninja warrior; Jesus could be Israel’s
Idol. But Jesus says no. It’s about the cross. It’s about serving the least
ones. It’s about being humble like a child.
The twelve then argue
among themselves which is the greatest, and then they become jealous of others
who follow Jesus but don’t follow them. They were too focused on themselves.
The boys have it
all wrong about leadership in the kingdom.
In answer to the
disciples question about greatness in the kingdom, Jesus calls a child over and
says, “Whoever
humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”
In the first century A.D., a
child had no rights and in fact was persona non grata, and in the Roman world, a female child was
often discarded at birth, boys being the preferred gender.
Yet leadership in
the kingdom is not about power, it’s not about possessions, it’s not about
pleasure or popularity. It’s about service.
Jesus shows us what
true authority looks like – you don’t really see it.
Jesus exercised his
authority with such a delicate humility that it was invisible.
And for us, as his
followers, that might mean we will not be recognized for our service. But that
isn’t so bad if it means we are participating in the ministry of Jesus.
As John the Baptist
said, “He must increase and I must decrease.”
Which brings us to
today’s feast day of the Guardian Angels.
The angels are
invisible. * Except for a few times when
they have appeared to people in the bible, they are invisible servants of God.
What is an Angel?
The word angel is actually the definition of what they do: they are messengers of God.
According to St.
Thomas Aquinas, an angel as a supernatural being is actually an incorporeal
spiritual being of pure intellect. *
In other words, unlike
humans who have a body and spirit, they are pure spirits.
They exist to serve
God and give glory to God and to serve humans in our journey of faith.
Angels are often
portrayed in art with wings because they are not confined to space and time,
hence our guardian angels can be with each of us now and also be in the
presence of God in heaven simultaneously.
And as the angels
are invisible, we too are called to be invisible messengers of God’s love,
compassion, and peace.
Isn’t that what
Jesus meant when he called us to be salt for the earth? Salt disappears once we
put it on our food and it brings out the best flavors.
Jesus also called
us to be the light of the world. And though light is also invisible, light itself
is that which illuminates all things; light enables us to see things, but we
don’t actually see light itself.
So let’s stop
playing the game of thinking were the greatest in the kingdom and humble
ourselves; recognizing the needs of others and asking our guardian angels to
assist us in our prayers and in practicing our faith and generosity.
Therefore as we go
about our daily lives, called to be angels of mercy, we too will be messengers
of God, willing to disappear from view to help others shine, bringing out the
best in others.
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