The Text
Last Time on ‘The Story’
On Sunday, we read about Jesus’ telling the disciples to take up their cross and follow; then his transfiguration six days later.
On the way down the mountain there is a conversion about timing and the return of Elijah, Jesus says that Elijah has already returned, and they did whatever they wanted to him. When they get back to the camp, there is a man whose son is demon possessed, but the disciples are unable to exorcize it. Jesus gets a little testy, and later explains to them that they lacked the proper faith. Jesus once again talk about his impending betrayal, death, and resurrection.
Next there is an interesting story regarding a temple tax. Warren Carter, in his book Matthew and Empire: Initial Explorations has a whole chapter on this story, suggesting that the context is more about the Romen tax for the temple of Jupiter, levied specifically on the Jewish population after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Jesus ends up paying the tax, but with coins that are miraculously found in a fish’s mouth. Jesus’ answer is an interesting one, go ahead and pay the tax, but also (subversively) acknowledge that all things come from YHWH (not Jupiter, or anyone else).
This brings us to th Ash Wednesday text.
Overview of Matthew
Ch. 1-3 Overture
1:1-2:23 Nativity
3:1-17 John the Baptizer
Ch. 4-7 Jesus’ early ministry, culminating in giving Torah (Sermon on the Mount)
4:1-11 Jesus’ Temptation
4:12-25 Jesus begins ministry in Galilee, gathers disciples, and ministers with the message “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near.”
5:1-7:29 First set of Torah (aka Sermon on the Mount)
Ch. 8-10 Enacting the Kingdom, culminating in Jesus’ instruction to his apostles (sent ones) as they go out.
Ch. 11-13 Responses to Jesus, culminating in Parables about the Kingdom
11:2-30 Jesus questioned by John’s disciples, and Jesus teaches on John the Baptizer and the Kingdom of Heaven
12:1-46 Jesus questioned by Pharisees, and Jesus teaches about Leaders and Unclean Spirits
12:46-50 Jesus’ family tries to (presumably) question him, Jesus teaches on his true family
13:1-58 Torah on the Lake
Ch. 14-20 Various Expectations of Messiah, culminating in Jesus preparing his disciples/apostles for his death
14:1-12 Death of John the Baptist
Jesus goes to a deserted place
14:13-21 Jesus feeds 5,000 men plus women and children
Boat
14:22-33 Jesus walks on water
Gennesaret
14:34-36 The healing of people in Gennesaret
15:1-9 Pharisees confront Jesus over handwashing
15:10-20 Jesus gives Torah about what truly defiles
Tyre and Sidon
15:21-28 A Canaanite woman refuses to be dehumanized
By the Sea of Galilee
15:29-31 Jesus heals many by the Sea of Galilee
15:32-39 Jesus feeds 4,000 men plus women and children
Magadan
16:1-4 The Pharisees and Sadducees demand a sign
on the Boat, en route to Caesarea Philippi
16:5-12 Jesus warns about the ‘yeast’ of the religious elite
Caesarea Philippi
16:13-20 Peter’s declaration at Caesarea Philippi
16:21-23 Jesus foretells his death, and Peter blows it.
16:24-28 True disciples are those who take up their cross and follow
Mountain
17:1-8 The Transfiguration
17:9-13 Jesus teaches about John and Elijah
17:14-20 Jesus exorcizes a demon which the disciples were unable to
Galilee
17:22-23 Jesus again foretells his coming death
Capernaum
17:24-27 Temple Tax
18:1-5 the greatest in the kingdom is like a child
18:6-9 remove every stumbling block
18:10-14 The Parable of the Lost Sheep
18:15-22 Dealing with sin in the community
18:23-35 Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
Shift from Galilee to Judea (Jerico)
19:1-12 Pharisees ask question about divorce
19:13-15 Jesus blesses the children
19:16-30 The rich young ruler
20:1-16 Equal pay for all
20:17-19 Jesus tells his disciples that he will be betrayed and killed a third time
20:20-28 James and John’s Mother asks for special favor
20:29-34 Two men who are blind call Jesus “Son of David” and are healed
Ch. 21-25 Direct Confrontation with the Religious elites, culminating with a blistering critique of the Pharisees
Ch. 26-28 Crucifixion and Resurrection
Today’s Story
Setting: Jesus and his disciples are now in Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee. This will be his last major stint in the Galilee area, and will soon move to Judea.
Greatest in the Kingdom: Jesus’ disciples come to him and ask who will be the greatest in the kingdom of God. Jesus has talked about the least in the kingdom being greater than John, so this is perhaps a natural question. We don’t get much context for why the question is being asked, but we can make some guesses. Perhaps Jesus’ disciples are really trying to get to the core of what he wants, perhaps they have a sense of how Jesus will answer, and want to humbly know how they can be most useful for and in the kingdom of heaven. But, probably more likely, they have delusions of grandeur, and want to be the greatest of all time.
Many of us do this all of the time, we want to be the greatest at whatever it is that we do. We like praise and acclaim, we want recognition. Even when we are called to be servants, we want to be the greatest. Our culture encourages this seeking after greatness. It is not that this is necessarily a problem, we are where we are as a species and cultures because of those who wished to do great things. But, there is a difference between seeking the greatness of blessing and prosperity for everyone, and seeking greatness for yourself. Or as Harry Truman is attributed in saying, “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit.” There can be something deeply twisted about the desire for greatness, especially if it is greatness for ourselves, and if we don’t care who we step on in order to achieve it.
Become Like a Child: Jesus’ answer to the disciples about greatness is to bring a child forward, and use them as an example. He tells them that unless you change and become like a little child, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” So Jesus turns the question on its side. They ask about who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and he says, ‘listen, why don’t you worry about getting into the kingdom of heaven in the first place?’ He says nothing about greatness, he talks about entry. Perhaps we can assume that he is implicitly answering the question, that a childlikeness is the answer to the kingdom and the greatness question.
In Jesus’ day, children were not as highly prized as they are today. They, along with women and enslaved people, were considered more means than they were ends. Their emotions were not considered, nor were their wishes. Children held the potential for continuation (in the case of boys) and the possibility of gaining wealth through a dowry (for girls), but only if they lived long enough.
Perhaps the thing that Jesus is pointing out is this: in Jesus’ day, and throughout history, children are very aware that they are not in charge. While there are some children who do dictate family dynamics, in most cases the majority of a child’s life is outside of their control (school, schedule, where they live, etc). They are also often very aware of their limitations, they are constantly face to face with all of the things that they can’t do or are unable to do (drive a car, watch YouTube whenever they want/as often as they want, go wherever they want to, etc.). Children, especially in Jesus’ day, would need to accept their lack of power and control in order to lead happy lives and avoid punishment. We as adults can sometimes be blind to our limitations, and feel that far more things are within our control than actually are. Is this the quality that Jesus is encouraging in his disciples? Instead of worrying about greatness, thinking that we are capable of such things; accepting our limitations and in full knowledge of how much is outside of our control? Jesus’ next statement confirms it, “whoever becomes humble like this child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” So the one who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven is the one least interested in being the greatest. This is not unlike Plato’s assertion that the greatest ruler is the one who would be least interested in ruling.
Then Jesus shifts from the humility of disciples and children, to welcome. Again, in Jesus’ day, children were not well respected, and certainly were not sought after as guests or important people. Likely they were mostly looked at as a nuisance, other than by their parents (most of the time, at least). Jesus, however, uses this low status of children to display the kind of welcome that should be seen in the kingdom of heaven. Welcome the ones with no prestige, with no skill, the ones who you are not going to get something out of.
In a time of institutional decline, and the lack of financial sustainability that comes with it, it is easy to see visitors as dollar signs rather than siblings to welcome into the beautiful community. While this motivation of survival is understandable, it smacks in the face of Jesus’ instruction on welcome of the child. For a positive example, we might look to the past. The practice of “Sunday School'' was originally viewed as an act of mission. In the early 20 century, churches saw children in need of religious instruction in their own communities. The assumption was that children whose parents were a part of the church would receive this instruction at home. Naturally, this motivation was tied up in assumptions of racism, classism, denominational preference, etc, but we can still give credit where credit is due. These churchfolks saw a need in their community, and did what they could to fill it. (Sunday School is now primarily nested in congregations because of a shift where congregation parents wanted the same religious instruction for their kids as ‘those children,’ and emphasis shifted closer to home. Vestiges of the original intent can still be seen in Vacation Bible School).
Stumbling Block: While many Bible headings disconnect these verses, Jesus then goes on to give instruction on the reception of these children with talk of stumbling blocks. The focus continues to be “these little ones” who are the literal children in their midst, but also metaphorically stand for all those who are seen as lesser than. They are described as those “who believe,” so the implication is that this stumbling block is an impediment to their faith, causing them to stumble or even to turn back from faith altogether.
We do not have to look far to see examples of this at play in our own world. As we talk about institutional decline, and see fewer and fewer people in the pews, the focus can be on our churches and their survival. We can easily focus on the ‘young people today’ who don’t care about things of faith, just avocado toast and Tic-Tock.
What we really do not want to focus on are the ways that the institutional church has placed a great number of ‘stumbling blocks’ in the way of would-be believers. These believers (or would be believers) are from a variety of generations, though younger believers from the Millennial generation (those born 1980-1994) and Generation Z (1995-2012) get the most focus. In fact, Pew research shows that there are actually more Baby Boomers (born 1946-64) who have walked away from the church than any other generation. As an elder Millennial (born in 1982), I am more familiar with the concerns of my own generation, and have siblings who are GenZ as well. For one thing, the institutional church’s apparent commitment to entrenched racism, patriarchy, misogyny, nationalism, consumerism, capitalism, heteronormativity, homophobia, xenophobia, jingoism, etc. all provide stumbling blocks for many, especially younger believers. The challenge often lies exactly in the high calling to which disciples of Christ have been called. Many of these have grown up in Sunday School and in pews where we were told that God loves everyone, and we should too; and then see a blatant (or at least perception of) unloving of others based only on their skin color, circumstances, or gender identity. We look at the Evangelical branch of the church seeking to be power brokers and power players in the political sphere, aligning with political parties and the corporations and lobbies that fund them, and the outright manipulation of congregations and members in order to promote political ends. Don’t get me wrong, the Protestant/Mainline and Catholic parts of the church do the same thing, we are just (thankfully) not as good at it. There are, of course, a whole list of other stumbling blocks. One that is (finally) getting some attention is just how much sexual, emotional, and spiritual abuse goes on within the church. The Roman Catholic church continues to deal with the fallout of sexual abuse scandels in the 80s and 90s, and the institutional inability to deal with it head on. The Southern Baptist Convention released a skatheing report on sexual abuse in that denomination last summer, and are continuing to deal with the implications. This last summer, the Presbyterian Church USA heard a report from their Survivors of Sexual Abuse Taskforce which made several recommendations on policy and polity changes in order to reduce future abuses. All of these stumbling blocks were put beautifully by Brennan Manning when he said that, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”
Those stumbling blocks become sobering when Jesus utters the next clause, “If any put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you is a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea.” Jesus takes this very seriously, and so should we. When we hear the stories of those with church-trauma, we need to actually listen without giving defense, hear the ways that we have been complicit in the stumbling of our siblings. The church of the post-Christian Century needs to discern the ways that we can exorcize the demons that have possessed the church, find ways to make room in our communities (or create/allow for different communities) where church trauma can be addressed, and simply do better at rising to the high calling to which we are called. People’s lives are on the line.
Cut It Out: Next Jesus tells his disciples to cut out those things in their lives (personally and collectively) that cause them to stumble. He uses the graphic image of cutting off one’s hand or foot. This is a case where he is clearly speaking metaphorically (I assume that not even the most fundamentalist folks take this one literally). The broad meaning is clear, if there is something in your life causing you to stumble, or causing someone else to stumble, cut it out, you don’t need that kind of negativity in your life.
Let’s start with the self, there is a known stumbling-block in your life, how do you deal with it? There are times where completely avoiding (or at least attempting to do so) is the best practice. Our siblings in twelve step addiction programs can teach us a lot about this. In this case, a literal addiction to alcohol, drugs, pornography, gambling, etc creates a situation in which someone needs to eliminate interaction with that thing, at least for a while. I have a dear friend who struggles with alcohol and drug addiction, and has come to understand that while others are able to imbibe, they are not. They once told me that if they were to give into that temptation to drink alcohol, that they would be snorting cocaine within a week, so they limit all interaction with alcohol and drugs. They are in a place where those around them can drink alcohol and it does not affect them, but that was not always the case; earlier on in their journey the mere smell of alcohol could be more temptation than they could handle. It is sometimes easier to deal with ‘bigger’ stumbling blocks like drugs or alcohol, it is harder when the stumbling block is more socially acceptable. Food addiction, for instance, is difficult to discern and treat. In this case, one obviously cannot simply not eat, the issue is more with portions, types, and emotional connection with certain foods. Here self-understanding can become a huge help; recognizing patterns of eating, or body-dysphoria, etc. Social Media can certainly fall under a more socially acceptable stumbling block in the digital world. To a certain extent, Social Media has given us the ability to communicate with far more people than was ever possible before; it also places us at the whims of algorithms and tech-giants who have no real interest in our mental health and well-being. They are mining our attention and information to enrich themselves, and we continue to scroll away our lives.
As we enter into the season of Lent, lenten practice can be helpful here. Roman Catholics have long held up lenten practice as a form of spiritual enrichment, Protestant/Mainline folks rediscovered this practice during the liturgical renewal in the 19th and 20th centuries, and Evangelical folks are even discovering it. The practice of ‘giving up’ something during the season of Lent can be a healthy way to practice this ‘cutting off’ that Jesus suggests. The elimination of a major stumbling block can be the first step in admitting there is a problem, and the elimination of a potential stumbling block can reduce that thing’s control over your spiritual life.
Things get more complicated (or we like to complicate them more) when this comes to the interaction with others. What if we find that our actions are a stumbling block for others? The Apostle Paul deals with this specifically in the letter to the Romans with the early church hot-button issues of meat sacrificed to idols. The early church was dealing (even more than we are) with the clash of cultures, and various assumptions that went along with them. Those who grew up in Jewish culture revered the Sabbath (Saturday), while some in the early church revered the day of Resurrection (Sunday) and still others different days. Likewise, some in the early church considered meat sacrificed to idols to be nothing important, since those idols did not signify actual deities; for others who grew up with those deities, eating meat that had been sacrificed to an idol felt like idol worship. In both cases, Paul is far more interested in disciples having concern for one another, rather than laying down a rule for all. He even goes so far as to say that “nothing is unclean in itself” (Romans 14:14). He cares much more that the freedom of one believer (say one who believes that eating meat sacrificed to an idol is no problem) does not lead to the stumbling of another (one for whom eating that meat sacrificed to Jupiter truly is a sin, because they believe it to be). Ultimately he calls believers to mutual forbearance as well as mutual care. To put it more practically, I may have no problem with alcohol, but will be mindful around my friend who is a recovering alcoholic, out of love for them.
This becomes even more complex as we deal with a larger scale, say a community of faith. How do we deal with issues like those listed above. Some suggest that we double down on ‘what the Bible says’ and expect others to conform to the way that we have historically spoken about God, morality, and one another. On the other hand, I think that there are some basic ways that we can change our language and practice that can help to not exclude others. One of the most basic ways to do this is the use of inclusive language for God and others. Some may be very familiar with use of ‘He’ to refer to God, however a) English is no longer a male-default language (we no longer use ‘he’ or ‘man’ to refer to any person); b) Arguably, even when it was acceptable, using male pronouns for God sets up unconscious assumptions about God, gender, etc. which are ultimately not helpful (or even harmful); c) some of our siblings have specific hangups and trauma associated with males, so persisting in using this language is unnecessarily distancing them; d) it privileges the biblical male-centered metaphors (e.g. Father) over the feminine ones (e.g. She-bear, mother hen, nursing mother, etc.) and flavors the non-gendered ones (e.g. storm, warrior, creator, cloud, etc). We can also distance in the ways that we use language for one another, even ‘brothers and sisters’ distances those who do not neatly fit into that particular binary.
Jesus is clear in this illustration, if there is something that causes you (and by implication, especially given the previous verses, others) to stumble, it is better to cut it out rather than face the judgment for keeping it in.
Pop Culture References
The Lord of the Rings provides an example of both of these ideas: First, the idea of getting rid of the thing that tempts you is powerfully explored with the One Ring. It is deemed to be too powerful to exist, and must be cast into the fires of Mount Doom. The task ends up being more challenging than expected, illustrating how hard it actually is.
Eventually, Sam and Frodo succeed, Aragorn is crowned king of Gondor, but in an illustration of who is the greatest, refuses to let the Hobbits (who were seen as small and useless, but ended up being the most influential) bow to him.