Matthew 18:1-7

“I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the realm of heaven at all.  Therefore, anyone who will humble himself like this child — that person will be greatest in the realm of heaven.  And anyone who, for the sake of my name, welcomes even one little child like this, is welcoming me.  But if anyone hinders one of these little ones who trust in me, it would be best for him to be sunk in the depths of the sea with a great millstone hung around his neck.  Alas for the world with such hindering! There cannot but be hindrances but sorrow awaits the person who does the hindering!”  —Matthew 18:3-7

This right here, wow, it’s just so much, and it speaks to us directly in this moment.  I feel like it could have been written just in the last few months, here in the United States.

From immigrantion, to S.N.A.P., to school lunch programs, to school shootings, and mass shootings in general, to racism, bigotry, and misogyny and honestly, and sadly, the list goes on and on here in the United States, with ways our government is hindering the least of these.  

I wonder if they misunderstood the “become like little children” to mean throw temper tantrums, and forget how to share…  The very next words are “humble yourself like a child.”  How much humility have we really witnessed lately from our government?  From the TOP of our government?  How do they care for the least of these?   

We’ve witnessed more hindering than not.  Hindering people from just living!  From existing! We want babies born, but we don’t want to feed them, we don’t care what happens to them after they are born, we don’t care what happens to their parents in or after that birth, just the birth.  We (as a country, not personally) don’t care if they can afford to give birth – the hospital bills that come with it –  we don’t care if they can afford to eat, or if they have a safe place to live.  Births just need to happen.  After that… who cares?  They aren’t our problem?  

And that right there…

That right there is hindering.  All of it!  It’s hindering.  I’m not pushing for abortions or anything like that, I’m thinking of health care, I’m thinking of living wages, I’m thinking of affordable housing.

To us in the United States, it seems like some far off Utopia that can’t possibly exist, and yet, other countries live more like this, not in the perfect utopian society, but in a society that cares for one another, that has affordable (if not universal) healthcare, that works to rid their communities of homelessness and hunger.

The community that immediately rose up after the death and resurrection of Jesus, was one of communal living.  One where they pooled their resources to be sure that every one was cared for.  This is what Jesus taught.  This would be heaven on earth.  

I wouldn’t mind paying more taxes to have healthcare for everyone, I don’t mind my taxes going to help those in need.  This is how we can pool our money to create this loving society that leaves no one behind, that doesn’t “hinder” the least of these, the least among us.

If we are true Jesus followers, this is what we strive for, this is what we fight for, this what we live for — each other.

Until next time…♥️