GOSPEL READING

Becoming like Children: 18,1-5

Matthew has turned a dispute in Mark into a simple question about the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. The disciples ae probably thinking of their immediate benefit so we can see the kingdom as present in the Church. This will become clear as the discourse develops.

Jesus then begins with a formal Amen statement. This affirms the values of the kingdom such as those of the Beatitudes, 5,3, or the proclamation of the kingdom through curing the sick in chapter 10, 10.7.

Humility has always been one of the great Christian virtues. It's an attitude of mind - becoming like a little child is to become a nobody and open to God.

verse 5 then prepares for the next section where the focus moves to the "little ones". The nobodys are to be welcomed as Jesus was soon to do (19,13-15).

The Little Ones, 18,6-10

The greek word which occurs six times in these verses 6 to 9 is skandalon from which we get our English word "scandal". The NRSV rightly translates this as "stumble" or "stumbling block". It is something of a favourite word of this evangelist as we've seen in 17,27.
A number of translations render this as "sin". This to my mind is too specific.

The focus of the discourse therefore moves from our own attitude (being like children) to our attitude to others, the little ones. As verse 6 makes clear, they are fellow believers who may well be weaker than ourselves. Hence some strong language from Jesus, these verses are a warning. Have a look at how Jesus has already introduced this theme in 17,27, where our key word "stumbling block" is already used. We saw there how St Paul deals with this theme when discussing eating meat offered to idols (1 Cor 10,23-33).

The great millstone of verse 6 is one big enough to need a donkey to turn it.

Verse 7 could be translated: "Woe to the world from scandals; for scandals of course there will be, yet woe to the man through whom the scandals come."

The warning is develop further and dramatically in verses 8 and 9 where Jesus switches to "you". This makes the point by overstatement, much like the splinter and the plank in 7,3-5. We can read this as stressing our personal responsibility for our actions.
That fits the previous use of these two verses in the Sermon on the Mount, 5,27-30 where there is the specific topic of adultery.

Verse 10 then gives the specific application of the woe: care for the little ones by the disciples.
The verse then speaks of their angels. Angels have an important place in the scheme of things as pure spirits acting as messengers between heaven and earth. The idea of guardian angels can be seen in Raphael accompanying Tobias (Tobit 5,4-7). (Tobit is a wonderful story if you have not read it.)

The Wandering Sheep: 18,12-14

Matthew's emphasis in using this story is found in his conclusion in verse 14 which is special to him. Luke's version (Lk 15,1-7), which may be the better known, has a different audience and a different goal. Matthew's sheep wanders, Luke's is lost.

The leaders of Israel are commonly called "shepherds", King David for example (2 Sam 7,7-8). And there is the strong attack on the false shepherds, false leaders of Israel, in Ezekiel 34 when God says he himself will shepherd his people Israel (Ezk 34,11.23).

Matthew has "if he finds it" in verse 13, a contrast to Luke "when he has found it ..." Sheep are free to continue wandering.

For Matthew, the conclusion is not about repentance as it is in Luke. Instead, the lesson of the parable is that the will of the Father, the shepherd (Ps 23), that none of the little ones shall be lost (verse 14). It is an appropriate message to have in mind as we come to questions of what to do when things go wrong in the community.