People of the Kingdom-- Life in the Kingdom

Text: “So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish” ().

“First, we can be sure that God’s punishment has come upon us, not only to chastise us for our sins but also to test our faith and love — our faith in that we may see and experience how we should act toward God; our love in that we may recognize how we should act toward our neighbor.” (Luther’s Letter to Rev. Hess on “Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague”)

I keep coming back to the words of Luther: This has come upon us to test our faith— that we may see and experience how we should act toward God— and to test our love— that we may recognize how we should act toward our neighbor. (Luther’s Letter to Rev. Hess on “Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague”)

When I chose today’s text months ago, it was not at all what I was thinking of, but this discourse from Jesus in is a great opportunity to addresses the second.

This has come upon us to test our faith— that we may see and experience how we should act toward God— and our love— that we may recognize how we should act toward our neighbor. (Luther’s Letter to Rev. Hess on “Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague”) One of the questions that a test of our faith might raise is the question: What do we look for from God?This is more reassuring than you know.

On one level, this passage is very easy to accept. It proclaims God’s concern for children. That is something that can very much resonate with.

We’ll do a lot to protect our kids. It’s to the point of even being a sort of a cliche: the new parents not only childproofing their home in every possible way, but practically wrapping the child in bubble wrap.

We’ll do a lot to protect our kids. It’s to the point of even being a sort of a cliche: the new parents not only childproofing their home in every possible way, but practically wrapping the child in bubble wrap.

I suspect that, for all the headaches that go with having young kids at home 24/7, more than a few parents were relieved when the schools closed. They didn’t have to entrust their children to someone else— even people as trustworthy as our staff— they could keep their children at home and protect them. Again, nothing against the schools or the teachers, but it’s just nice to be able to take care of them yourself.

And the opposite is true, as well. It’s interesting to see how doctors and nurses are being praised right now. It’s certainly well deserved, but it’s interesting. The stories that are repeated the most right now are the accounts of doctors and nurses who work in the hospitals— especially in the ICU’s— are exposed to the virus for a full shift, and then come home and try to prevent any chance of passing the virus on to their children.

We’ll do a lot to protect our children. To the point that the example of courage and integrity everyone is talking about right now are the doctors and nurses working in the hospitals— especially the ICU’s. And the ones who are really going above and beyond are the ones who are exposed to the virus for a full shift and then come home to their children, having to go to great lengths to prevent any risk of passing it on to them.

So this passage seems very accessible at its first reading. God cares about children as much as we do. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me” (). “Whoever causes one of these little ones to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea” (). “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven” ().

That’s a reassuring thought. There might not literally be a special place in hell for those who harm children, but look here: it must have at least crossed God’s mind.

But there’s something more that He has in mind. Something which may not even be “on the radar” for most of us: the seriousness of your duty to teach your children the faith.

{Luther quote}

As Luther once wrote, “He has not given you your children and the means to support them simply so that you may do with them as you please, or train them just to get ahead in the world. You have been earnestly commanded to raise them for God’s service, or be completely rooted out – you, your children, and everything else, in which case everything you have done for them is condemned, as the [close of the] commandment says, ‘I visit the iniquities of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me’ [].

If you have young children right now and you’re making sure that they are getting enough rest and that they’re taking vitamins to keep their immune system healthy; if you’re making sure that they develop good disciplines like washing their hands properly and coughing into their elbows, for example; if you’re making sure that they are kept away from anyone or anything that might put them at risk, but you’re not teaching them Bible stories and the songs of God’s people, you’re not teaching them disciplines like daily prayer and devotions, you’re not making sure that they grow up knowing that, as Christians, we are in this world but not of it— that this world is not our home— then repent. “It is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that [even] one of these little ones should perish” ().

It would be better for you to have a great millstone fastened around your neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea than for you to continue to neglect teaching your children about Christ.

He has not given you your children and the means to support them simply so that you may do with them as you please, or train them just to get ahead in the world. He has, in fact, given you your children and the means to support them. And you aren’t only teaching them to be productive, responsible adults, you’re helping to build up God’s Kingdom by building them up, by raising them, as people of His Kingdom.

When they were born, you probably did all the baby-proofing stuff that we all went through: car seats, cribs, and high chairs all to the latest safety standards; locks on the cabinets; pads on the corners of the furniture; covers on outlets, the whole nine yards. But the most important thing you did was bring them to the waters of baptism. There they were born again into eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.

As you bring them to Sunday school, as you teach them God’s Word yourself— even just reading them simple Bible stories— you’re not just entertaining them fairy tales. You’re teaching them the story of God’s plan of salvation— all that He did, over the course of thousands of years to bring a savior into the world (a savior who loves them even more than you do!) to suffer and to die in order to give them the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

As you continue to instruct them in the word, teaching them the Catechism, and preparing them to receive the Lord’s Supper, you are writing God’s Word upon their hearts and minds. You’re preparing them to receive the strength to stand against the assaults of the devil, the world, and their own sinful flesh.

—where they were born again into the Kingdom—and by teaching them God’s Word, which strengthened them in their faith and also equipped them to build up the Kingdom by sharing the Gospel with others, as well. And, by receiving even one such child in Christ’s name, you have received Him. And all that you have done for even one of these little ones, you’ve done for Him.

As you teach them, by example, to continue to read and learn God’s word after confirmation, you are continuing to ground them on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ and preparing them to weather the storms of this life— not to mention equipping them to build up the Kingdom by sharing the Gospel with others, as well.

And, by receiving even one such child like this— in Christ’s name— you have received Him. And all that you have done for even one of these little ones, you’ve done for Him.

That, alone, would be a valuable lesson in how we ought to act toward our neighbor. But we can go a step further.

This is about you, as well. Jesus says at the outset: “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (). It is a warning. The disciples were obsessed with what they had to do to be the greatest, to earn places of honor, in the Kingdom of Heaven. And His response was that, unless they gave up those ideas entirely, they would not even enter it.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing that you and I are cut off from so many of the things that we try to build our reputation and our value upon. Because, in the end, that’s not where your value comes from. It comes from the fact that you have been born again in baptism; that you have been made like a little child without anything to offer God or promise Him; that, even if you were the only person who had ever gone astray into sin, He would have left everyone else and gone searching for you. For the joy of finding you and gathering you back into the Kingdom of Heaven, He endured the cross, despising its shame, and is now seated at the right hand of God ().

If you’re making sure that you are getting enough rest and that you’re taking vitamins to keep your immune system healthy; if you’re making sure that you develop good disciplines like washing your hands properly; if you’re making sure that you stay away from anyone or anything that might put you at risk, but you’re not continually relearning Bible stories and the songs of God’s people, you’re not learning disciplines like daily prayer and devotions, you’re not making sure that you are reminded, from the moment you wake up in the morning until that moment you close your eyes at night that, as Christians, you are in this world but not of it— that this world is not you home— then repent. “It is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that [even] one of these little ones should perish” (). Because He rejoiced at being able to walk the path to Calvary and reclaim you there because it was not only the will of your Father who is in heaven that you, one of His little ones, should not perish, it was Christ’s will, as well. So, in the waters of baptism, you were born again into eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.

When they were born, you probably did all the baby-proofing stuff that we all went through: car seats, cribs, and high chairs all to the latest safety standards; locks on the cabinets; pads on the corners of the furniture; covers on outlets, the whole nine yards. But the most important thing you did was bring them to the waters of baptism. There they were born again into eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.

The better you know those Bible stories, the better you know the history of God’s plan of salvation— all that He did, over the course of thousands of years to bring a savior into the world to suffer and to die in order to give you the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

When you were instructed in the word, taught the Catechism, and prepared to receive the Lord’s Supper, you were writing God’s Word upon your hearts and minds. You were prepared to receive, in that bread and wine, the strength to stand against the assaults of the devil, the world, and your own sinful flesh.

This is about you, as well. Jesus says at the outset: “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” ().

As you continue to read and learn God’s word, you are keeping yourself firmly grounded on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ in order to prepare you to weather the storms of this life— not to mention equipping you to build up the Kingdom by sharing the Gospel with others, as well.

And, by receiving even one such child of God (that’s you) like this— in Christ’s name— you have received Him. And all that you have done for even one of these little ones, you’ve done for Him.

Because “it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that even one of these little ones should perish” ().

Also

Scaer:

Application of the Sermon on the Mount

Affirms the place of children in the early church

Emphasizes God’s compassion for His creatures

Commands similar compassion from us toward one another

The goal of “” is not exclusion. It’s reclaiming the erring brother.

“If your eye causes you to sin, cut it off...” applied to the body of Christ, practice of excommunication

This all flows from the disciples’ question: “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

Why would Matthew choose this discussion to instruct us about the Kingdom of Heaven?