“Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 18:4)

By Letizia Magri

Who is the greatest? The most powerful? Who is the real winner in society, the Church, politics or the world of finance?

These questions run through relationships, they guide choices, and determine strategies. They make up the dominant logic, which we may inadvertently find ourselves resorting to when trying to ensure positive and efficient outcomes for those around us.

The Gospel of Matthew presents us with Jesus’ disciples. They have accepted the announcement of the kingdom of heaven and want to know what will be required of them if they are to be leaders of the new people of God. ‘Who is the greatest?’ they ask.

In response, Jesus does something unpredictable: he places a child in the middle of the small crowd. And he accompanies this gesture with clear words.

“Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” 

Jesus contrasts a competitive and self-sufficient mentality with the weakest and most vulnerable element in society — the person who has no role to boast about or defend, and who is totally dependent on others and spontaneously relies on their help.

Yet this is not an invitation to be passive or to avoid proactive and responsible behavior: it is a freely taken act of the will. Jesus invites us to become small in order to be child-like, and this requires intention and commitment from us if we are to make a decisive change.

“Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

In a Gospel commentary written in 2003, Focolare founder Chiara Lubich describes a child of the Gospel: “Children trustingly abandon themselves to their father and mother: they believe in their love ... Authentic Christians, like children, believe in God’s love and abandon themselves into the arms of their heavenly Father, placing unfailing trust in him.

“Children depend on their parents for everything ... We too, ‘children of the Gospel,’ depend on the Father for everything ... He knows what we need, even before we ask him, and he gives it to us. The kingdom of God is not a reality to conquer and win, but rather a gift to receive from the hands of the Father.”

Chiara emphasizes how children entrust themselves completely to their father and learn everything from him. In the same way: “The ‘evangelical child’ puts everything in God’s mercy and, forgetting the past, begins a new life every day, open to the promptings of the Spirit and staying continually creative. Children cannot learn to speak on their own; they need someone to teach them. The disciple of Jesus ... learns everything from the Word of God to the point of speaking and living according to the Gospel.”

Children tend to imitate their parents. “So, the child of the Gospel ... loves everyone because the Father makes his sun rise on the wicked and on the good, and makes it rain on the just and on the unjust. This child takes the initiative in loving because the Father loved us when we were still sinners — this child loves gratuitously, without interest, because the heavenly Father does so.” 

“Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

In Colombia, Vicente and his family experienced the challenges of the pandemic under a very strict quarantine regime. “When the curfew started, daily life changed abruptly,” he writes. “My wife and two older children had to prepare for university exams; the youngest could not get used to online learning. No one in the house had time to take care of anyone else. 

“This chaos was on the verge of exploding when I realized it was an opportunity to embody the Art of Loving in our ‘new life’ according to the Gospel. I set about tidying the kitchen, preparing food and organizing meals. I am not an experienced cook, nor precise in my cleaning, but I realized that this would help to reduce the tensions of everyday life. 

“What started out as an act of love for one day multiplied over several months. Other members of the family began to do the cleaning, tidying and putting things away whenever they finished their work.

Together we saw that the words of the Gospel are true, and that creative love suggests how to put everything else in order.”

“Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.”

Jesus is walking, surrounded by a crowd. A desperate father has just begged him to come to the aid of his dying daughter. 

While on his way there, he meets someone else — a woman who has been suffering from blood loss for many years makes her way through the crowd. Her serious physical condition also forces her to limit her family and social interaction. The woman does not call out to Jesus, nor speak, but instead comes up from behind him. 

She dares to touch the fringe of his garment, purposely thinking, “If I could only touch his cloak, I will be healed of this suffering that torments me.”

And behold, Jesus turns, looks at her and reassures her: her faith has obtained her salvation. This was not only about her physical health, but an encounter with God’s love through Jesus’ gaze. 

“Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.”

This episode from Matthew’s Gospel opens an unexpected perspective for us too. God is always on his way toward us, but he also awaits our initiative, so that we do not miss an appointment with him. 

Our faith journey, although bumpy and marked by mistakes, fragility and disappointments, has immense value. God is the Lord of true life and wants to share this life with all of us, his sons and daughters. 

In his eyes, we are rich with a dignity that no circumstance can suppress. For this reason, today Jesus says to us too:

“Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.”

We find help to live this Word of Life in what Focolare’s founder, Chiara Lubich, wrote when meditating precisely on this Gospel passage in 1997. 

“In faith, men and women clearly demonstrate that they do not rely on themselves but trust in the One who is stronger,” she wrote. 

“Jesus calls the woman he has healed ‘daughter’ to show that he really wants to give her not only the gift of physical healing but also the gift of divine life that can renew her entirely. 

“Jesus, in fact, works miracles so that we can accept the salvation that he brings. He embodies the Father’s gift of forgiveness, and when this gift is communicated to men and women, it transforms them. 

“How can we live this Word? By showing God our trust in him when we face serious challenges. This attitude certainly does not relieve us of our responsibilities, nor does it dispense us from doing all we can ... 

“Yet our faith can be put to the test. We see it clearly in this suffering woman who is able nonetheless to overcome the obstacle of the crowd that stands between her and the master ... 

“We need to have faith, then, but a faith that does not doubt in the face of trials. We should show Jesus that we have understood the immense gift of divine life that he has brought us. We must be grateful to him and correspond to it.”

“Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.”

This certainty also allows us to bring a measure of salvation by tenderly “touching” those who are suffering, in need, darkness or bewilderment.

This is what happened to a mother from Venezuela who found the courage to forgive. “I was feeling desperate for help when I attended a meeting on the Gospel, where I heard Jesus’ words: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God’ (Mt 5:9), and ‘Love your enemies’ (Lk 6:35).

“Love your enemies. How could I forgive those who had killed my son? And yet a seed had entered me, and the decision to forgive finally prevailed. Now I can truly call myself a ‘child of God.’ 

“Recently I was called to a meeting with my son’s killer, who had been caught. It was difficult, but grace intervened. There was no hatred or rancor in my heart, only great pity, and the intention to entrust him to God’s mercy.”