Matthew 18:1–6 Revised Standard Version
True Greatness
18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Temptations to Sin
5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,[a] it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.[a] 12 What do you think? If a man 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? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my[b] Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
Let us pray: Into your presence we come, God of Grace, Mercy and Justice who was, and is and ever shall be the eternal One. Into fellowship we come, bound together in the love that died and rose again for us, our Saviour Jesus Christ. And now “LET THE WORDS OF MY MOUTH, AND THE MEDITATIONS OF OUR HEARTS BE ACCEPTABLE TO YOU, OUR ROCK AND OUR LIBERATOR-AMEN!
It’s a great joy and an honour to be with you this Sunday morning. Allow me at the outset to Greet you all in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I also bring you greetings from your fellow believers in India, specially the Lutheran Churches that you have founded through the Santhal Missions and also from the churches and members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, specially Presiding Elizabeth Eaton. We are here at a very special occasion when the Ecumenical Council of Norway observes the Global Week of Modern Slavery. This has never been so urgent and serious as now. I have been traveling and speaking in Congregations, Organisations, Colleges and schools and I have this strong impression that these issues are taken so seriously and systematically. I congratulate the Christian Council and the Church of Norway for this initiative.
What about today’s Gospel lesson? What about it? This, by coincidence or by design, coincides perfectly to observance the Global Week of modern slavery. The two sections of the same chapter, speaks of humility, hospitality and the joy of the lost one being found. I wonder if in the Norwegian society, could there be a certain understanding of being this? Let’s look at some interesting dimensions of how one could respond to the call to look for, and after the lost ones!
Is christianity for losers?
Is Christianity for losers? I have reflected on this very deeply all these three and a half decades of my ministerial life. On the one had there is this over-zealous preacher who interpret the Gospel and the good news as a being WINNERS! The prosperity gospel seeks to look at blessings as a gift for God and therefore prosperity, wealth and success are fruits of the blessings form God! I have always wondered about this, specially looking at the call from Jesus in our Gospel lesson-verse 13 …And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my[b] Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” Our challenge therefore is to rediscover the spirit, the core-objective and the SEARCH for the truth. All religions claim truths and I have no worries about that. What does Jesus look for-the Lost the least and the last!! Until the last –lost-least one is found-verse “13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray”. So, the joy of the Kingdom of God is of the finding of the lost the least and the lost! So, I will tend to say-YES, Christianity is for the losers, for the lost and for the last! Let’s look at some of the serious challenges facing the world in relation to Modern Forms of Global Slavery!
Slavery and the kingdom of god
According to updated and credible information there are more than 40 million people trapped in modern forms of slavery. Most of them are trapped in the labour market-forced and bonded, Commercial Sex trade, human trafficking, human organ trafficking, early and forced child marriage, etc. These are all human beings like us sitting in this church today, with families, dignity, freedom, nationality, children girls, men and women. Why is it that these happen to the most vulnerable and the poor? What seem to be the causes for this! Yes, we are aware that there is a huge market and therefore human being are bought and sold in this Slavery-Market and commodities and objects. We are also informed that some are profiting from this Human Misery to the tune of over 150 billion dollars (World Economic Forum). Let us also acknowledge the fact that there are huge inequalities in this world. A recent data says that “the Richest 1% of the people own half of the world’s wealth”!
According to the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI), more than 31 000 people applied for asylum in Norway in 2015, mostly from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq (see UDI’s overview in this issue of Samfunnsspeilet). Statistics Norway has figures on reason for immigration from 1990 to 2015. During this period, 738 000 people immigrated to Norway from countries outside the Nordic region, and 141 300 of these were refugees.
One in every five immigrants in Norway was a refugee, which corresponds to 2.7 per cent of the population. Norway has refugees from 169 different countries, with most from Somalia, Iraq and Eritrea. So, the answer to my question if Norway understands, is a big YES.
Despite the legitimacy provided by the DeuteronomIC and the Leviticus laws, Yahweh Was deeply concerned for the slaves, about the slaves, all of who, like in contemporary times were pushed into slavery due to poverty, or even their “foreign-SOCIAL” identity.
No options, but serve the poor-lost, least and last
The call is to serve the poor without an option. Look at Jesus’s teachings. Read the Parable of Jesus regarding entry passports/visas to the Kingdom of God. There are no OPTIONs. “Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”-Matthew 25:44-46. So, the call to be a justice seeking and a justice establishing Community IS NOT AN OPTION! The vision of Justice in the Bible appears more than 1500 times and the word poor/poverty about 440 times and all twice as much as heaven! Yes, Human are not for sale, for sure. We affirm that all are indeed created in the Image of God and therefore all citizens in the Body of God. Human trafficking, Bonded labour, Child labour and exploitation, Debt bondage and all forms of slavery are NOT TO BE REFLECTED IN THE IMAGO DEI, the image of God.
God is very clear and we are the ones who are distorting the creation, humans and the Image of God. Through the prophet Jeremiah, Yahweh says: “For the hurt of my poor people, I am hurt: Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no Physician there? This question is for the churches in Norway, churches in the world and to all humanity. We are called to be the Physicians to bring that balm to heal the world, to rid the world of all injustices!
In this Global Week of Modern Slavery, we are called to be the PROPHETIC physicians! Can we respond to this call???AMEN!
Let us pray: Grant us, Lord God, a vision of your world as your love would have it:
a world where the weak are protected, and none go hungry or poor;
a world where the wealth and abundance of creation are shared, and everyone can enjoy them;
a world where different races and cultures live in harmony and mutual respect;
a world where peace is built with justice, and justice is guided by love.
Give us the inspiration and courage to build it, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.