Matthew 19:13-15
The Rev. Dr. Robert S. Langworthy, preaching
September 20, 2026
Four months ago, the New York Times published an article entitled, “Toxic Confidence Has Taken Over”. These days more and more people have self-delusionary estimations of their abilities. They’ve developed a faith in their powers and potential that leads them to feel certain they can be whatever they want to be and do whatever they put their minds to – often to an extent beyond that of most folks. They exaggerate their capabilities to others and themselves, and eventually come to believe in their own self-flattering exaggerations.
When you’re a little child, with a strong imagination, you may harbor fantasies of being a super-hero or a powerful princess. But because you’re small, you accept the fact that you need people bigger than you who can do things you can’t and who will feed you, clothe you, keep you safe and get you the things your heart desires. Your natural default setting is to trust big people, and you don’t hesitate to depend on them. You might even think they’re there just to take care of you.
It’s clear that Jesus loved children, and that children loved him. What we might miss, however, is that He taught that, to be mature, we adults have to become like children.
Because many witnessed Jesus’ kindness to people of all ages, and watched Him lay hands on folks and heal their bodies and lift their spirits, people in droves brought their little ones to Him that He might touch them in His lovely way and bless them.
The disciples tried to put a stop to it. The biblical texts do not say why they did. There are two speculations as to their reason. The first is that they had adopted the devaluation of children so prevalent in their culture. They thought Jesus’ priority was with adults, and they hated to see His time and energy used up by those who didn’t matter as much. So, to keep first things first, they wanted to shoo away the kids and those who brought them. The second speculation to explain the disciples’ behavior is that they, seeing how troubled Jesus was by the imminence of His death and how wearied He was by the endless stream of folks pressing in on Him for help, tried out of love to protect Him from more draining demands. Concerned about his being burned out, they meant to give Him respite from the ceaseless, insistent claims upon His time and energy.
Whatever the disciples’ motivation, Jesus made His resolve clear. He was committed to no one’s being turned away because everyone was important, and neither a bother nor a nuisance. Even in His dread-filled awareness of His approaching crucifixion, He was never too tired or too preoccupied to bless people. Thus, Mark’s Gospel describes Jesus as “indignant” over the disciples’ attempt to stifle His availability and accessibility to the little children. For He was working to create a family in which people of all ages, genders, ethnicities and histories would fully participate!
More than that, He wanted His disciples to welcome those they’d sought to turn away as their teachers! Little children – while they can be as self-centered and mean and cruel as any adult – exemplify the whole-hearted trust in and dependency on Someone bigger than oneself, an attitude that opens the way to God’s kingdom. That’s why Matthew quotes Jesus as saying the kingdom “belongs” to “such as these”, and why Luke quotes Him as saying “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it”.
Little children are the paradigm of being helplessly but whole-heartedly reliant on someone bigger than oneself. Though they very much want what they want, they don’t care whether they merit it or have earned it. They just accept the reality that they lack the wherewithal to get it themselves, and love the idea of being able to count on Someone who always knows what’s best, always can bring it about and always wants to bring it about for them. They’re confident, not in themselves, but in Someone big and good.
Though we adults, in our pride, resist the idea of not having achieved or earned or merited good things, hate depending on anyone’s gratuitous goodness, and loathe admitting we are before God as empty-handed and as needy as a little child, for us also the only hope is accepting we can’t get what we most want on our own but must depend on the Divine Being as readily as little children depend on human beings. Kids know they are not equal to the task of addressing their needs, and thus they have no qualms about relying on trustworthy people or on a loving, almighty God.
It is worth noting that Luke, in his telling of today’s story, introduces it by relating Jesus’ parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector who went up to the temple to pray. The parable was, the Bible says, aimed at those who like the Pharisee “trust in themselves”. Jesus declared that the tax collector, so humble he prayed by throwing himself upon the mercy of God, “went down to his home justified”, while the Pharisee, so self-confident he prayed by boasting on himself, did not. Jesus then warns, “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.” That is, all who abandon self-confidence and hang their hope on the undeserved favor of a benevolent and omnipotent God will be exalted in His extravagant generosity of love.
So, the spiritual life is one in which we grow up by becoming more like a child – by becoming utterly reliant on God and expectant of God’s grace.
Dick Foth pastors in Washington D.C. and ministers to many military and political leaders. Charlie, a smart and highly competent chief of staff for a member of congress, contracted a virulent and fast-growing cancer that the doctors could not slow down. It was more than Charlie could handle without help from beyond himself. Though previously an agnostic, Charlie in desperation opened up with Dick; and, like a little child, trusted Dick and believed whatever he said. Charlie asked Dick what Jesus needed from him. Dick replied, “Faith the size of a mustard seed, which in the Middle East is the size of fine pepper.” When Charlie looked unsure about that, Dick told him, “You right now have faith in the chair you’re reclining on. You’re trusting it to hold all your weight. To trust Jesus is to put all your weight on him.” “Then, that’s what I’ll do,” Charlie replied in his simple, small faith. And he did. Later, Charlie admitted he didn’t quite get what prayer is. Dick told him, “Since you know how to talk with people, you know how to talk with God. Praying is just talking to Someone you can’t see, like on the phone, only God’s a better listener.” And that’s what Charlie did until he took his final breath.
Our faith is so simple even a little child can live it. And our faith is so simple even a little child who brings to it nothing but their need and hunger can have it.
How welcoming God is of all His children, both small and big!
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