Scripture Matthew 18:1-7
In that hour the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the realm of the heavens?” Jesus called a child, whom he placed among them, and said, “Truly I tell you, lest you all be changed and become like children, you all will never enter the realm of the heavens. Whoever humbles themselves like this child is the greatest in the realm of the heavens. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.
“But if anyone puts an enticement to sin before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of enticement to sin! Enticements to sin are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the enticement comes!”
Sermon
Muhammad Ali did it. He claimed it and he named it: The Greatest of All Time. His wife simplified that to the G.O.A.T. Goat.
So, tell me, who is the greatest of all time, in the field of your choice? Anything: boxers, singers, cars, bands…. Tell me, who, in your opinion, is the goat? And why?
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Let me give you a few of my goats. Warning: You may find them weird.
Greatest classical recording of all time: Rachmaninov’s Symphony #2, with André Previn conducting the London Symphony Orchestra.
Greatest Ella Fitzgerald album of all time: “Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Songbook.”
Best Life Savers of all time: Butter Rum. I rediscovered them on my vacation.
Seriously. What is it about us humans that we want to know—to decide!—who is the greatest of all time at any given thing? I do think there’s a case to be made that Dolly Parton may well have been one of the greatest human beings of all time. Just consider her blazing talent: Dolly was an incredibly talented woman. She wrote her first song somewhere around the age of 6. Over the course of her career, she wrote more than 3,000 more, and sold over 100 million records. She wrote two of her greatest hits—"Jolene” and “I will Always Love You”—on the same day.
Dolly was a generous woman. One of twelve children born to her parents, her father made a living selling moonshine. Dolly came from serious poverty. In her success, she created a theme park, Dollywood, both to give her fans a place for fantasy and escape, and to save the economy of Pigeon Forge, her Tennessee mountain hometown. Her father never learned to read or write. Because of that, support of literacy was such a passion that she created the Imagination Library, a program through which books were sent to children from birth to age 5, at which time they received the last book. “Welcome to Kindergarten.” The program has been running for more than 30 years, during which time more than 3 million children have received more than 300 million books.
And Dolly was an accepting woman. She loved people, all people. Careful not to get into the culture wars, she nevertheless was outspoken about her care and acceptance of LGBTQ people. In one interview, she said, “I just love people. I love that God light and that God core that is in every single one of us. I do not judge or criticize or condemn.” She added, “I really do believe whether you accept 'em or not, we all have gays and lesbians and transgender [people] in our family or in our family of friends,” In another interview with the same journalist, she asked, “Why wouldn’t I stand up for everybody?”[i]
Dolly has been referred to as “the great unifier.” In a country that is so sadly divided, we can all agree on Dolly. She is loved by just about all of us, and she is being mourned, loudly and passionately. Last week I came upon to a brief video by a woman whose bio reads “Comedian. Explorer of Faith. Independent Vicar.” She offered the possibility that Dolly was one of the Tzadikim, which means, righteous ones. In the more mystical realms of Judaism, it’s believed that there are 36 Tzadikim living in the world at any given time. Their connection to God’s spirit, the Shekhina, is believed to sustain the world. They do this by their virtue, their strength, and their valor, regardless of whatever religion they may or may not practice. The only requirement is that they work for the honor and glory of the Holy One. But Dolly has died, you say. Don’t worry. When one of Tzadikim dies, when they go to their ultimate home with God, there is always another Tzadik to step in and keep that mystical number of 36, seamlessly continuing their work.[ii]
Jesus’s disciples came to him, asking this very question. Who are the greatest? More specifically, who will be the greatest in God’s heavenly realm?
It must have been tough to be a disciple, following Jesus around and trying so hard to emulate his love and goodness, when all the while the voices of the people you left behind were probably echoing inside your head. “You’re going to do what? To leave your family behind? Your community? Your livelihood?” It would be natural to wonder where all this was heading. Was there… perhaps… fame and glory at the end of it all? After all, whether we’re talking about the year 30 in Palestine or the year 2026 in upstate New York, “who is the greatest” remains a constant concern. Who would be the winner? Who would be the greatest of all disciples?
This is not really a stretch. Kings and emperors have generally been considered great, even if they weren’t very good. Why shouldn’t the disciples anticipate some kind of power structure in which they too might have a position of greatness? Not as great as Jesus, of course. But great enough.
Jesus so often teaches by his actions. He calls to a nearby child, and places them in the midst of the disciples, and says this:
Truly I tell you, lest you all be changed and become like children, you all will never enter the realm of the heavens. ~Matthew 18:3
Did you hear that? I’ll rephrase it, give it some context.
Jesus is saying: Here is the truth: You need to be changed—not to change, on your own, but to let God work on you. To be changed by something/ someOne larger than yourself. You need to be more like this child—open, curious, eager to learn—than you are like some yes-man to the emperor. Wilda Gafney, in her notes on this passage, speaks of the “heart, hope, trust, and imaginative capacity of children.” Jesus is implying all these things, assuming the disciples know or intuit these things about children. And unless you do—allow God to change you—you won’t even see God’s heavenly realm, let alone have a leading role in it.
And let’s not forget about care. Children need care, they crave it. To be cared for by someone older, larger, wiser, more knowledgeable about life than themselves. How can the disciples—how can we—learn to open ourselves to God’s care for us, in the way that children receive care from those who love them?
Then, Jesus answers the question directly. He says,
Whoever humbles themselves like this child is the greatest in the realm of the heavens. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me. ~Matthew 18:4
This child—any child—who has the capacity for learning, for growth, for awe, is the “greatest,” because they are ready to not only receive God, but to reflect God. To shine with God, as they shine with joy or excitement. To glow in that particular way that leaves us marveling at the sheer beauty of the young heart yearning for and learning about God.
Jesus goes on to issue a warning as to his—or God’s—response to anyone who would try to entice an innocent to the wrong path. The warning is harsh and ugly and helps us to understand the dignity and worth of children in God’s eyes. All children, not just our own beloved ones. The children of people we don’t know, the children of people from other countries. Disregard for the welfare of children—whether it comes in terms of leading them astray, or cutting off their means of acquiring food or health care, or even—God forbid—separating them from the people who love them—is an act of cruelty. Jesus has no patience for it. He condemns it in the harshest terms.
Jesus is always turning things upside down. His is a topsy-turvy world. The first will be last, the last will be first. In this instance, we are not role models for children, they are role models for us. What do you think of that? How does that feel, contemplating the possibility that a child might have an intuition for something important, something holy, in a way we adults have lost track of?
The whole journey of living is growth. The whole journey of living is learning. Jesus wants us to learn something from the smallest people in our lives: something about openness and trust. Something about heart, and hope, and imagination. Something about curiosity and something about learning itself. A child’s heart is open, and full of hope. A child’s heart is a magical landscape of imagination. A child’s heart is curious and open and ready to take in what the world, and their loved ones, and God has to pour into it.
Oh to have such a heart, in our thirties and sixties and nineties! To have such a heart!
Thanks be to God. Amen!
[i] Chris Azzopardi, “‘Why Wouldn't I Stand Up for Everybody?': Remembering Dolly Parton and Her LGBTQ+ Allyship: Over a decade of interviews — about her gay relatives, trans employees, drag name and a lesbian-wedding rumor — the country icon made clear the love went both ways. PrideSource, August 25, 2026. https://pridesource.com/article/dolly-parton-tribute.
[ii] Maggy Whitehouse, Instagram, August 27, 2026. @maggy_whitehouse.