“Then He said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me also welcomes my Father who sent me. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest.”
- Luke 9:48
There are numerous ways to take this, both correctly and incorrectly. It may be used to honor parents who “welcome” a child into their life. It may be used to go on a long rant about humility. It could be used to talk about the relational dynamics of the Trinity. In either case, it turns the verse to be more supportive rather than a stand-alone truth. For the whole point is not about the child, nor even becoming the greatest. The point is about welcoming the Son.
The Disciples:
Since this series is about the Tales of the Disciples, we need to take this verse in the context of the twelve men who have chosen to leave their lives behind and follow Christ. In the process of following Christ, they realized some of them would be invited to deeper and more personal times with Jesus, this included Peter, James, and John. The issue with this came when the Disciples would argue amongst each other about who would be the greatest! Who would have the fame? Who would have Jesus’ own authority to rule? Who would be at the right and left hands of Jesus?
These debates, like any group of high schoolers today trying to out best each other, were completely petty and missed the point of following Jesus at all. So, Jesus sought to correct their line of thinking and views of their status. Jesus invited a little child to Him, something not common for a Rabbi to do. He is inviting this child to be closer to Him than His own disciples. The child truly was the least among the group at that moment, and yet, made the center point of Jesus’ teaching.
From this point is usually where we talk about humility or the Trinity. Instead, I’m taking this to focus on Christ, the Son in the situation.
The Son:
Jesus comparatively was the least kind of person, but in so doing He was the greatest. Theologically speaking, since Jesus was and is God, having existed prior to the act of Creation and living in a perfect relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit, He had no need to be human. He already a lived-in perfect relationships, could by His power do whatever He wanted, and speak things into being. Jesus did something radically different though.
For God so loved the world, the Father sent the Son to redeem it from its brokenness. For while the Son was truly great, we and the world were truly the least. We were and are sinful and decrepit beings who regularly seek to twist things toward our personal advantage. The Great Son came among the Least of us.
Jesus denied Himself of His own rights as God. For though He was and is creator, He became among creation, like creation. For though He was and is Lord over all, He became a mere carpenter and a refugee. For though He was complete and satisfied, He became man and starved. Proportionally speaking, no one could ever become less than what Jesus did in the incarnation. The truly greatest became the least.
How can the magnitude of this contrast be explained that does it justice? Think of Superman, born with special powers that are amplified in comparison to a normal human. Superman then realizes the only way to save humanity is to lose his powers and become not simply another human, but he is to become a mouse. That is what Jesus did, suspending His supernatural rights as God, so to save humanity, and took on flesh that limited Him by His own will.
Jesus is then teaching; His earthly life is identified alongside those who are the least among us. In their context: children, prostitutes, lepers, and foreigners. In our context just ask yourself who the last people you would want to hang out with would be.
Welcoming the Son:
When we welcome the least among us to be closest to us, we are welcoming the Son to be near to us. It sounds strange, it sounds ridiculous, and does it even matter all that much? I believe it does, for when we allow divisions between ourselves and other people, we are saying the image of Christ is not necessary for me to enjoy life. There are plenty of people in our society who might be considered as an outsider by you. Jesus teaches us to embody a radical love that welcomes these strangers into our circles.
Recently I have read a quote for one of my ministry classes saying, “The interruptions are the ministry.” Often times pastors and Christians can get wrapped up in the work of ministry and life and entirely ignore those “interruptions” and inconvenience peoples because they interfere with the work. Instead, Jesus might be inviting you to engage and welcome those people, to give them time. The interesting this is, many of us have witnessed someone treat these “least” among us with care, gentleness, and compassion. For a moment, something inside us recognizes that as a better way of engaging that person, and then we move on with a sarcastic joke and get back to work. I believe Jesus is inviting us here to treat others as He has treated us, with love and walking alongside.
Final Blessing:
Christ laid it all done for us, and sometimes we are so focused on ourselves that we forget to lay things down for others. Yet, the truth is that when we welcome strangers and others into our lives, engaging them with respect and care, we are welcoming Christ into our lives, not just as Savior but as a friend. We too must become alongside the least, and welcome those around us into our lives rather than cutting off and avoiding them.
Now may the Lord of Life and Redemption be with you in every step, every breath, and every heartbeat of your journey.
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