Set your face towards the little children
by Pastor Tim Castle-Schmidt
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Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me (Mark 9:37).
Whenever I hear the footage of Muhammed Ali declaring, ‘I am the greatest’, I shudder somewhat. As important as good self-esteem is, the raucous declaration of superiority eats away at my Australian – and I might add Christian – soul. Greatness is never something to claim for oneself.
And so, when Jesus responds to his disciples’ debate over greatness by showing them a child, I find myself even more attracted to Jesus and his teaching.
But look at where Jesus takes this discussion. He doesn’t just call on us to emulate the little children but to welcome them.
We, as Jesus’ followers, are called to welcome the little children, for, in this, our Father welcomes us.
So, who are the little children? Well, it’s not just children, but all those who are vulnerable and in need. It is in looking out for and standing up for the little ones, the poor and the disadvantaged, that God welcomes us.
We have recently commemorated National Reconciliation Week (27 May to 3 June 2022), where we have been asked to consider how we can best reconcile with Indigenous Australia. Indigenous Australians are some of the most disadvantaged, so I think Jesus identifies closely with them. Australia’s new Commonwealth Government has committed to fully implementing the Uluru Statement. Take time to learn more about it, and see if Jesus meets you among these ‘little children’. Try the Uluru Statement website or the Common Grace website.
Heavenly Father, thank you for meeting us in the little ones in our world. Help us set our faces towards the little children – the ones considered the least and are the most vulnerable in our world – knowing that you meet us in them. Bring true, deep reconciliation between all nations and peoples in this land now called Australia, helping us see you in one another. Amen.
Tim Castle-Schmidt is the pastor of Onkaparinga Lutheran Parish in the Adelaide Hills. After spending many years as a teacher in Lutheran schools, he says he finally listened to God’s call to pastoral ministry. Tim is passionate about social justice and engaging the church with contemporary society. Tim shares his life with Fiona, daughter Miranda, a Jack Russell called Otto and 10 chooks.
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