Thursday 17 November 2011
- Bible Book:
- Matthew
"Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes!" (v. 7)
Background
Time and again Jesus' disciples get the wrong idea about hismessage and yet still they follow and still Jesus accepts them asfriends. Here they are discussing who the greatest is in thekingdom of heaven, perhaps prompted by the fact that Jesus onlytook three of them up the mountain to witness his transfiguration(Matthew 17:1-13). And even though he warned themnot to say anything it's hard to imagine that one of them didn'tlet something slip to the rest of the group. So Jesus brings achild amongst them and encourages the disciples to copy theirhumility.
Now, either children were very different in first century Palestineor Jesus doesn't know much about children. They are so oftenconsumed with who is the fastest, or prettiest, or who's got thebiggest slice of cake or the best toy. "Who is the greatest in thekingdom of heaven?" sounds like a pretty childish question. Perhapsthere is another childlike quality that Jesus is alluding to - thatability to live fully in the present, experiencing life deeplywithout concern with what happened yesterday or worrying about whatwill happen tomorrow. A child can run joyfully with total abandonacross a beach, delighting in the splashing of the waves andfalling exhausted, giggling into the sand in a way that most adultsare far to uptight and concerned about self-image to emulate.
If this childlike wonder is the way to the kingdom of heaven thenthere will be so many times when we stumble and fall, make mistakesand fail. That's OK, Jesus accepts that there will be times ofstumbling. He reserves his harshest warning not for those who runwith joy and fullness of life - making mistakes along the way - butfor those who cause the stumbling. He strongly condemns those whoset up obstacles in the way of people who seek to live that life ofdelight, wonder and joy.
To Ponder
What helps you live a life of childlike wonderand joy?
In what ways do others put obstacles in the pathof those who seek to live that life? And in what ways do you putsuch obstacles in the way?