NOTES for Mat 18:11

For today's Day of the Holy Spirit, let us quote words from the liturgy written by St Theophanes the Branded, who lived in the first half of the ninth century.

Source of life, in whom we believe, stream of goodness, Holy Spirit of God, bring my deadened mind to life and by Your action raise it up to sing of Your divinity.

O Spirit of wisdom and the fear of God, Spirit of truth, counsel, and understanding, Giver of peace, dwell in us, so that, sanctified by Your indwelling, we may sing without ceasing in the night: We glorify You, Lover of humankind.

Almighty and Lord of all, who preserve all creation from decay, grant us sanctification and enlightenment, so that, filled with Your light, we may sing without ceasing in the night: We glorify You, Lover of humankind.

Come to us, Holy Spirit; make us partakers of Your holiness, of unfading Light, of divine life, and of Your fragrant gifts, for You are the stream of the Godhead, proceeding from the Father through the Son.

It is very important that today, on the day of the Holy Spirit, the Church reminds us of the Lord's promise to be among us when two or three of us gather in His name. At the time when Christ spoke these words, the apostles hardly understood how the Teacher could always be present with all those who gather "in His name." Until they learned this and were convinced of it with their own eyes, through their own experience, these words remained a mystery to them. Christ, foreseeing this, still sent the apostles this "package," which reaches its addressee in time.

And precisely on the day of Pentecost this package was delivered: "But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything that I have said to you" (John 14:26). On that day the Spirit gave the apostles the sense of the living presence of their Teacher among them, just as real as it had been when they walked together along the roads of Palestine. Perhaps even more real: the Spirit "provided" His presence both among them and in each one of them at the same time. For they were truly gathered in His name.

It is possible that, while awaiting the descent of the Spirit, the apostles were doing exactly what Paul lists in the Letter to the Ephesians (Eph. 5:9-19). After all, this is a concrete embodiment of the words "in His name"; it is truly what is worth doing while waiting for the Spirit. In any case, the apostles truly took Christ's words to heart and remained together. And their shared disposition, their faithful waiting during the ten days from the Ascension, was what the Lord wanted from them. It was the one step in response to which He does far more: He pours out His grace on us.

Today the Orthodox Church celebrates the Day of the Holy Spirit. The Epistle to the Ephesians reminds us that 'the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth' (v. 9), and calls us to 'be filled with the Spirit' (v. 18). The apostle Paul calls this new state of the human being 'light in the Lord'; the apostle John also turns to this image of light when he speaks of brotherly love among believers (1 John 2:10). In the spirit of love we are called to 'seek those who have gone astray' (Matt 18:10-14), to resolve problems in our relationships (Matt 18:15-18), and, finally, to receive God's grace in unanimous prayer in the name of Christ and in His presence, just as we were promised.

The words warning us not to despise these little ones are spoken immediately after the warning about the danger of stumbling blocks. But are only children among the little ones mentioned? If Christ tells adults to become like children, then all kinds of people in any age group can be little ones.

In advising us not to despise anyone, He gives us a very difficult commandment. Many of us are used to treating with contempt those who do not suit us. It is very convenient to feel that you are better than other people, those unpleasant people. More than that, many of us are used to "improving ourselves morally" by comparing ourselves with "bad people" and looking good against their background.

But here too the Lord sees and acts differently. Those whom we habitually place below ourselves may turn out to be much more precious to Him than some "proper" people, precisely because we have increased the pain of the rejected with our "proper" blows.

And let us remind the comfortable people whose arithmetic cannot make sense of Christ's rule, according to which one may leave the whole vast flock in order to save a single lost sheep, that no one has a guarantee that he will never become that sheep. And then the Good Shepherd, leaving everything, will go to save him too. After all, He wants every last one to be saved.

How are we to understand the words that we need to become like children in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven? Surely everyone who is at least somewhat familiar with little children knows that they are by no means angels, though their angels do stand before the throne of the Most High in heaven. Perhaps the point is precisely their smallness, defenselessness, and dependence on their parents, since the Lord speaks specifically about humbling oneself (v. 4). They are especially vulnerable to temptation, deception, and the action of the world's evil, and therefore they so need God's love and protection. Apparently this very kind of relationship with God is the realization of the Kingdom of Heaven.

The evangelist connects the words about the children we must become in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven with a small parable about a shepherd and a lost sheep, and this immediately puts everything in its place. The point is not only that we become weak, defenseless, and dependent, although at times we really do need to feel like children before God; Christ is clearly speaking here about a "new childhood," that is, about a second birth - not only about feeling like children in comparison with God, but actually becoming children of the Heavenly Father (and here any childishness is out of place; this calling is too high).

Understood this way, the familiar commandment "be like children" becomes an incomprehensible call to become participants in God's life, to become beloved sons and daughters in the beloved only-begotten Son - the path opened before us in Christ's Resurrection...

The question of what it means to be like children has concerned Christians for many centuries. This is understandable: it is a necessary condition for entering the Kingdom. Most often, people mention childlike innocence and childlike naivete. In reality, however, innocence and naivete are not so simple.

Augustine already observed that children are by no means innocent; they simply do not yet have the strength and skill to sin "like adults," but it is impossible to speak of their sinlessness, or even of their lesser sinfulness compared with adults, because all great sinners naturally grow out of little ones if they do not try to resist their own sinfulness. Naivete is not simple either: children usually understand much more than they tell adults, though, as a rule, in their own way, within the framework of their own logic and their own ideas about the world.

There is, however, one essential difference between children and adults, at least up to a certain age: children are usually little concerned with how they look in the eyes of those around them and what place they occupy in the "adult" world. During this period of their life, children simply ignore the reference points of the "adult" world, while at the same time understanding that it is an objective reality. Adults usually perceive such a child's existence as an ongoing game, more important to the child than the life adults consider "real."

For the child at this time, what is important is what he himself considers real and genuine, not what is conventionally considered so according to generally accepted rules, in which adults themselves often do not quite believe. This childlike attitude toward life is a priceless treasure for everyone who strives for normal, full spiritual life. Normal spiritual life is impossible if one does not live by what one recognizes as genuine, authentic, and real.

As we grow up, to a greater or lesser degree we learn to give up what we ourselves consider real and authentic in favor of what is conventionally considered such, and we pass from reality into illusion, in whose reality we strive with all our strength to convince ourselves and others. To be like children means to refuse such self-deception. This, of course, is only the first step on the path to the Kingdom, to authentic spiritual life, but without the first step there will be no later steps, and therefore no path.

The question of evil's origin and nature in the world has long occupied and tormented humanity. Hardly anyone could have told us more about it than Jesus, who was to confront the world's evil. Yet He does not say very much to His disciples about the devil and the world's evil; He tells them only that the devil is defeated and that the day will come when this becomes clearly visible to everyone.

Instead, He speaks to His disciples and followers at length and in detail about how to resist evil in everyday life. One of this life's most serious temptations regarding evil deeds and actions is the temptation to imagine oneself powerless before the evil being done. The issue is not even whether it is possible to stop those who do evil, but whether refraining from evil is pointless. The logic of evil suggests that your participation or nonparticipation will change nothing: if not you, then someone else. By trying to resist evil, even simply by refusing to participate in it, you only make your own life more difficult without accomplishing anything at all, for there will be no less evil in the world.

This logic seems temptingly simple, and it would be conclusive if the untransformed world were the only and final reality. Fortunately, it is not. A person who refuses to participate in evil has good reason to act as he does. The issue here is not only, or even chiefly, the world lying in evil, but the person and his spiritual destiny—whether he will be able to enter the Kingdom or remain in “outer darkness.” Even if a situation in the fallen world is indeed often beyond human control—“it must needs be that offenses come”—a person's own choice is always within his power. Jesus apparently gives no weight at all to what is called environmental influence, social determinism, and other similar justifications for the evil a person commits.

Of course, this does not mean that He fails to take account of the situation in which a person must make his choice. He says only that one must not consent to evil or inwardly surrender to it, accepting it as normal simply because it is normal in the fallen world. The norm of the fallen world is no norm but a perversion, and everyone who agrees to become a conduit for the powers of evil must remember this, for “woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.” It may certainly happen that even by refusing to participate in evil, a person will be unable to prevent that evil. But he can keep evil from entering his own heart and thus preserve it for the Kingdom.