The Greatest in the Kingdom

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In today's Gospel lesson, the disciples come to Jesus with a rather misguided, but all-too-common question. Their question is one that we all like to ask from time to time “Who is the greatest?” You and I all want to be the best, the brightest, the most successful, the greatest. Even if you cannot be the grade-A, certified best at everything, you still want to be the greatest at fill-in-the-blank.

Because of this compulsion, we have seen an explosion of self-esteem boosters, ranging from the cute and relatively benign to the just plain ridiculous. Go to a department store just before Mother's Day, and you will see the shelves littered with clothing and trinkets emblazoned with “#1 Mom”. Kids will squabble endlessly to win the title of “best friend”. Of course, these things are relatively harmless, but it doesn't stop there.

Go to a kids' sporting competition, and everyone gets a prize. Many contests nowadays are judged on an objective scale, rather than one contestant against another, because it is considered poor form for children to compare themselves to one another. We have a generation of young adults who have never been called second-best, because that might be injurious to their self-esteem, despite the fact that coming in second generally motivates you to do better next time. Many coming of age today have trouble keeping a job because they don't understand the competitive dynamics of the job market and the workplace. “E for Effort” sometimes is just not good enough. But yet we all want to hear that message: “You are the greatest!”

In that vein, the disciples ask Jesus, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” To a human mind, it seems a legitimate question. Someone has to be first, and someone has to be last, right? So is it the most pious saint who is the greatest in the Kingdom? Surely we can look to the patriarchs and prophets, and consider them among the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. Or consider the lives of the saints of old. St. Polycarp was burned at the stake at the age of eighty. St. Francis wandered all over Italy, barefoot and begging. St. Catherine of Siena subsisted by eating only the Lord's Supper for most of her adult life. Are these great examples of the Christian life the greatest in the Kingdom?

Or perhaps the greatest in the Kingdom are the ones who have won the most souls for Christ, so to speak? After all, Joel Osteen can fill a football stadium week after week, claiming to proclaim a Gospel. Preachers like Robert Schuller and D. James Kennedy reached millions throughout their careers, thanks to television and radio. Dr. Kennedy's preaching can still be heard on TV in some places. It could be said that Billy Graham and his Campus Crusade changed the face of America and American Christianity. Are these the greatest in the Kingdom?

The answer that Jesus gives is a resounding “NO!” These things do not qualify you as the brightest and best in God's eyes. They do not win you a trophy or brownie points. Rather, Jesus says, “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” If you wish to be great in the kingdom of heaven, you must be humbled like a little child. Okay – but what does that mean?

A child is utterly dependent. From the very beginning of life, a child is carried about by others. For the first nine months, every child is carried about to and fro in his mother's womb. No creature chooses to be created, but is given life by God alone. Even after that child is delivered from the womb, he is still subject to the whims of the adults in his life. Mom and Dad carry him here, there, and everywhere as they go about their lives. From crib to couch to car seat, he goes where they go. Even when he learns to walk, he must still go where he is told.

This state of dependency also makes a child immensely vulnerable and defenseless. From the moment of conception, forces operate upon a child's life to wrest that life from her. Subject to the will of her mother, she may be aborted or forced to endure the mistreatment of drugs or alcohol or other toxins. Even the child carried by a healthy and caring mother is subject to the so-called natural forces that work to keep a child from birth. Once she enters the world, she may not fare much better. In many parts of the world, children are nearly as likely to die as to see their first birthday. Even in our country, terrible acts of abuse and neglect are perpetrated against children every day.

By virtue of being dependent and defenseless, a child is in a position of humility. This is not the natural posture of any human being, but it is a forced state, due to being at the mercy of others. Each child must depend on the kindness of others for his needs of body and soul. However, children are not naturally humble. Watch a small child, and you will soon learn this. Children can be incredibly stubborn, selfish, and ungrateful. They will often do exactly the opposite of what they are instructed. Sharing is a skill that takes a long time to learn. Gratitude takes a lifetime to inculcate, and some seem never to learn it. But children are forced into these virtues by their circumstances.

Therefore, when Jesus instructs the disciples to become like a child, He is instructing them to be humbled. Our Lord commands all of us be humbled. Despite the inclinations of your sinful heart, you must be humble before your God. He is God, and you are not. He gave you life; you did not choose it for yourself. You are not your own lord, nor the master of your own destiny. The Lord is not seeking some outward posturing of humility. No one makes of himself a martyr. Sacrificing for the sake of others, however noble, will get you into heaven no faster than being the brightest and best. You are a poor miserable sinner, broken and dead in your sins and trespasses. You can do no other. That is your natural state. This is what we confessed at the beginning of this Divine Service, and this is what each of us must confess each and every morning. You must repent of your false pride, your fake humility, and your desire to be the greatest in the kingdom. Repent and admit your dependence on God.

For, as St. John says, “if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” You are dependent upon the God of heaven and earth for your life and being, and this is a good thing, because He has the power and the will to give you all you need.

The Father of all goodness and life desires to give you life abundantly. He created the heavens and the earth, and filled them with life, so that you might be His child and live in His love and grace. He delights in showing mercy to you and in giving you all that you need to support this body and life. Depend on Him, because He has promised that He will never leave you nor forsake you, because He has created you and has claimed you as His own dear child.

The Son of God desires to give you life everlasting in His Kingdom. Jesus so much desired the salvation of you and all mankind that He came down to heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man. He suffered, died, and was buried, and on the third day He rose again from the grave. He ascended into heaven and sits and the right hand of the Father. All this Jesus undertook in order to save you from your sins. Depend on Him, because He has shed His blood to accomplish what you could not – the atonement for your sins and the salvation of your soul and body. By His stripes you are healed, and through His blood you will enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Holy Spirit desires to give you life in Christ, here in time and there in eternity. While you were yet dead in your sins, the Spirit entered into you and breathed the breath of life into your cold, sinful heart. In the waters of the font, He marked you as one redeemed by Christ the crucified. Each morning, He renews that baptismal covenant and forgives your sins. He works faith in your heart, and love and service in your members. Depend on Him, because He has brought you to faith in Jesus, and continues to keep you in the one true faith unto life everlasting.

You are the dear children of the Lord, created, redeemed, and sanctified by His love, and He does not desire that one of His little ones should perish. God our Father rejoices over each of His children, both young and old. He rejoices to see each child created and given birth, and even more does He rejoice to see children enter into His kingdom through the watery gates of Baptism.

Because He does not desire to see His children perish, our heavenly Father instructs His people to gently lead one another in the way of life. We are called to speak the truth in love, humbly correcting our brethren when they err. To love your brother is to help him see his sin, that he may repent and be restored to the fellowship of the saints. The point of correction is not to despise the one who stumbles, or exalt the one who finds fault, but to bring all the faithful into one accord in the Body of Christ. Just as two feet cannot carry one body in different directions, neither can the faithful go in separate ways. We are called to love each other and bear each other up in the true way.

The children of God are completely and utterly dependent upon Him, and that is a wondrous thing. You have the promise of your Father that He will hear and answer your petitions and prayers. Jesus promises us, “For where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am among them.” The Lord is here among us, now in this Divine Service, and always, binding our hearts together into one holy communion of faith and love.

The Lord is here among us, forgiving our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness. He is here to restore us to fellowship with our Father and with one another. The Lord is here to hear our prayers and petitions. He is pleased to do good for those who love Him, who are called by His Spirit and His Name.

The Lord is here to give Himself for you. He gave Himself for you upon the cross, and today He gives Himself for you upon this altar. In His Body and Blood, He cleanses you and makes you holy and pure. In His Holy Communion, He lifts you up and makes you great in the kingdom of heaven. You are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven because He has called you to faith and poured out His grace upon you. He has made you the cherished and precious children of God. And there is nothing greater in all of creation than to be be a child of God.

My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior.

He has shown strength with His arm;

He has scattered the proud

in the imagination of their hearts.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones

and has exalted the lowly (LSB 248-9).

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.