The Bible passage for today’s blog article continues Jesus’ message about the “little ones,” which is his favorite description of people who follow him.
“Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 18.10).
To “despise” a little one is not to hate them, but it is to care little for them. The Beatitudes reflect Jesus’ feelings about the “little ones.”
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5.3-6).
Jesus blesses the lowly poor and those who have been humbled by life’s circumstances. He includes those who hunger and thirst for justice (another reading of “righteousness”) in his blessing.
Those who despise the “little ones” care little for them and are among those who fail to bless God’s beloved.
Whereas humans often overlook God’s “little ones,” their angels behold his face. I don’t know what it means for angels to behold God’s face in relationship to these precious humans. However, it is easy to recognize how this is another picture of God’s blessing for them.
The Catholic Church has captured in its documents an official position on God’s “little ones.” They call it a “preferential option for the poor.”
Being poor involves material, moral, and spiritual poverty.
According to the Church, material poverty “affects those living in conditions opposed to human dignity: those who lack basic rights and needs such as food, water, hygiene, work and the opportunity to develop and grow culturally”.
Pope Benedict said this about moral poverty: “Contemporary culture seems to have lost the sense of good and evil.”
Pope Francis described spiritual poverty as “when we turn away from God and reject his love. If we think we don’t need God…we are headed for a fall. God alone can truly save and free us.
“In any case: while humans need to be liberated from material oppressions…more profoundly we must be saved from the evils that afflict the spirit.”
“There is only one real kind of poverty: not living as children of God and brothers and sisters of Christ” (Pope Benedict).
As followers of Jesus who are determined not to overlook the “little ones,” we should be engaged in the material, moral, and spiritual concerns of those in our sphere of influence.
The Parable
If we think we can evade Jesus’ message, he drives home his concern for the little one with a parable.
“What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?
“And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.
“So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost” (Matthew 18.12-14)
A shepherd doesn’t have a casual attitude toward his sheep. Every one is precious to him. Without diminishing his care for the herd, he seeks a lost sheep until it is found.
God has the same love toward the material, moral, and spiritual poor in our world.
When we are led by the Holy Spirit, he will show us those humans who need our service. We will not have a hardened heart that is colored by preconceived ideas of people who could be overlooked outright.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 