Shepherd of the Springs
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

          Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the Kingdom of God . . . . 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.  (vss.4, 10)

                    This morning we observe that festival in the Church year that commemorates the contributions of God’s holy angels and the role that they have played in the working out of God’s plan of salvation. Throughout redemptive history, Angels have sometimes served as God’s messengers.  God chose an angel to announce the entry of the Son into the world - first to Mary, then Joseph, and also the Shepherds.  When Satan unleashed his war against the baby Jesus, it was an angel who alerted Joseph and saw that Jesus was delivered safe from Herod’s army.  Angels guarded the entrance to Eden when God expelled Adam and Eve after they fell into sin.  Following the great temptation in the wilderness and again in the Garden of Gethsemane, Angels came and ministered to Jesus.  At the end of times, it will be angels that sound the trumpets heralding his second coming and will serve as his heavenly entourage when he returns in glory, separating the sheep from the goats.   

          Here in our text we learn about what we more commonly call, guardian angels - we learn they they are assigned by God to his children. Since we learn nothing about them retiring when the children get older, we can think that we may still have that one that was assigned to look after us even now that we have become bigger children of God.  In any event Jesus links together little children who enter the Kingdom with those who are the greatest there . . . and they have angels who watch over them. The subject of who is the greatest in the Kingdom apparently has come up again, as it has in the past with the disciples of Jesus. Here he assigned the greatest in the Kingdom, not as the one who is the servant among us, but rather the one who is small, weak, and in need of much care and assistance just to continue to live. He tells them that unless any and all of us become like a small child, we will not even make it into the Kingdom of God, much less be the greatest there.  Notice how Jesus closely connects the two thoughts. . . gaining entry and being the greatest in the Kingdom of God - and then on top of that He brings in the matter of guardian angels.  

          About entering into the Kingdom of God, we know that no one does so on the basis of their own initiative. No one makes a decision for the Kingdom and then use his own resources to obtain it. Little children just naturally realize that where they are and who they are has had nothing to do with their own choosing or resources. Indeed, they understand that all they are and have is dependant on others who are much greater and more powerful than themselves. They know that they are weak; they do not have all the answers about life; and they must depend on the wisdom and strength of those much greater than themselves who love them if they are to have a secure future.  Yes, the modern picture of little children as unspoiled innocent ones is a false picture that does not accord with Scripture, or the experience of them very soon by their parents. Infants and small children are very self-centered and demanding are they not? And they can make a lot of noise, yes?  Nevertheless, it is probably true that they rarely think of themselves as the greatest until later on if they have been terribly spoiled. The point that Jesus is making here, however, is that little children just intuitively understand that they must trust others more powerful then themselves to love them and protect them from all the evil forces in life to be safe and sound.  In short, the small child realizes he needs one he can count on as his savior. . . one who is all powerful, all knowing and willing out of loving commitment to use these resources to keep evil at bay so that things can work out and the child can live happily ever after. For the sinner in the child, this might be Dad, but as a new creation in the Kingdom through baptism, the child receives our Lord as his Savior. 

          We must not miss the point here for us children here - old or young. You must become and remain like a little child for both entry and status in the Kingdom of God.  You must loose all pretense about your self-sufficiency; you must recognize your sinful frailty and place your complete trust in the One Who is all powerful and all knowing and Who loves you.  In other words, you must take the humble position that you are not and cannot, be the master of your destiny or the one who can secure your own happy future.  There are forces of evil from within and without that would be your demise immediately if you were left to your own resources.  Like the child you must trust that because the One who is God loves you - your spiritual Dad - everything will work out for your future safety and happiness . . . even though you cannot see or understand fully how this will be so.  You just trust it. You just trust Him. You just trust that you are and will be secure.  

          For us grown-ups such beliefs and attitudes can be a real challenge.  The world around us thinks such thoughts are not only childish, they are the perspective of wimpy, milk-toast weaklings. But, there you have it. This is how it is, and how it must be in the Kingdom of God. You must become and remain as a little child and cling to the childishness of the Gospel to really be secure and sound and have a future.  You have no resources in yourself to keep yourself safe and sound today . . . and you have no resources unto yourself to have a secure future. You have entered the Kingdom of God only by the humble trust that God is your Heavenly Dad and He alone is big enough - and loving you - has overcome and holds back all the forces of evil that otherwise would be your undoing. 

          Now let me invite you to do some very sober thinking. Do you know who hates this fact with a hot, consuming jealousy - a jealousy that he also has for God’s only begotten Son?  Yes, it is Satan; that once great and magnificent arch-angel who rebelled against God out of his jealousy concerning the Son of God and his plans for each of us in his Kingdom.  From your Baptism and adoption into God’s family, you have become the object of his hatred and a major cause of his spiritual terrorism.  He is out to destroy you.  As we have said before, an alarm went off in Hell when you were baptized.  The evil powers and principalities of Hell have set out to destroy your life in Christ - to get you back as a citizen of Hell.  And parents, this is also as true about each of your children as it is with you. The Devil and all his fallen angels are out to get your children back - to destroy their life in Christ and again make them bound citizens of Hell. The powers of darkness hate what you and your children have become in Christ and what they forfeited in their rebellion against God. You and your children are no match for their powers and resources which include the world and your fleshly sinful self. 

          Your baptism and that of your children have placed you and they in the midst of a spiritual warfare against Satan and all his powers of darkness.  We know how angels ministered to Jesus in the midst of his spiritual warfare with the Devil in the wilderness, in the garden, and no doubt on so many other occasions. In the same way also, our Heavenly Father has dispatched for a guardian angel to minister to you and one for each of your children in their spiritual warfare with the Devil.  St. Paul wrote in Ephesians, we are not just contending against flesh and blood, but with evil powers and principalities.  As the Lord has given us His Spirit and His Word, He has also given each of us a wise, loving, and powerful angel to be our protector and companion - serving us from the unseen realms in our spiritual journey. You have a guardian angel. And, he is constantly looking out for you. He has already kept you from so much harm that would otherwise have been your undoing.  Trust that like all the baptized little babies, you to have that guardian angel who is looking out for you as God’s powerful and devoted sentry - 24/7.  Together with all His angels, your guardian angel sings God’s praises; he sings the praises of the Son; and he see to it that in Christ you will be delivered to His Kingdom as one of his greatest sons and daughters.     

          In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. A-men.