This sermon was delivered at the weekly service at The Kensington (Galesburg, IL) on October 3, 2021.
Last week we discussed the importance of not underestimating young women, or women in general. This week, Jesus pushes us to also honor and value the contributions of children.
Each year in October, the Children’s Defense Fund, founded by Marian Wright Edelman, organizes the celebration of a Children’s Sabbath- a day to recognize and advocate for the needs of children in our communities. This effort intends to unite faith communities in every religious tradition around the issues faced by children and engage people in long term action. In my work in churches, I have always celebrated Children’s Sabbath on the day this verse shows up in the lectionary- whether it be in Mark, Matthew, or Luke.
“Don’t bother Grandpa; he’s reading the paper.”
“Let Aunt Sara rest; she’s tired.”
We often say such words to children when we feel that they are bothering others. We make statements like these because we want to teach children to respect others and their personal belongings. And indeed teaching children to respect the privacy of others is vital for a child’s well-being and the well-being of others. Setting boundaries for children is good parenting and caretaking.
In today’s lesson the disciples may have felt that they were setting healthy limitations and respecting Jesus by stopping the parents from bringing their children to Jesus. We don’t believe that they were being mean to the parents, nor did they dislike children. They knew Jesus was tired and busy, so they felt that he should not be bothered. Boy were they wrong! Jesus’ response, “Let the children come to me; do not stop them” (Mark 10:14), tells us a great deal about Jesus’ character. Jesus is saying that he’s never too busy for any child placed in his path.
You see, Jesus and his disciples had been traveling around Galilee, teaching his followers about God’s love. They had been to Capernaum, and now they went to a part of Judea across the Jordan River. Lots of people had come along with him—in fact, it was a whole big crowd! While he was teaching, some people came up. These people wanted Jesus to bless their children. But the disciples didn’t like that! They didn’t want anyone bothering Jesus, so the disciples tried to keep the people away from Jesus.
But this made Jesus mad, and he let them know it. “Don’t push these children away. Don’t you ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in God’s realm. Pay attention to this: Unless you accept God’s realm the way a child would, you’ll never get in.” Then Jesus gathered up the children in his arms and blessed them.
Jesus gathered the children…all of the children. You see, in the time of Mark’s gospel, the people of Palestine were under the rule of the Romans. They were living in an occupied nation, and times were really tough. Many people had to leave their homes and travel great distances to find work. Sometimes children were left to take care of themselves. So it’s likely that at least some of the children being brought to Jesus were hungry or were wearing worn or tattered clothing. Maybe one of them had a runny nose or a cough. But Jesus gathered them all—the dirty children, the smelly children, the ones with the runny noses, the ones with the tattered clothes. Jesus gathered the rich children in their neatly washed clothes and fixed hair, the children who were limping or hurt, and the children who were lost. Jesus gathered them all into his arms.
Marian Wright Edelman, the founder of the Children’s Defense fund said, “When Jesus Christ asked little children to come to him, he didn’t say only rich children, or white children, or children with two-parent families or children who didn’t have a mental or physical handicap. He said, “Let all children come unto me.” Jesus didn’t spend time trying to determine which children were deserving of the fullest measure of God’s love. Jesus instead used the children as an example of the presence of God’s kingdom. His actions are a reminder that we are to receive the Kingdom of God WHENEVER it approaches in the form a child, no matter how lowly, poor, or different that child might be.
The Kingdom of God often shows up on our doorstep or in our midst and we must embrace the kingdom in whatever form it is revealed. Most often, the kingdom is revealed through children. Sometimes, it is in the clean, well dressed, well behaved children who come to worship, who sing in our choirs, and who attend our nursery. But sometimes, the kingdom appears in more humble form. It appears in the form of children who are dirty, hungry, and lonely. Children who are made fun of. Children who cry themselves to sleep. Children who need a little more love, a little more attention and a little more grace.
When the kingdom of God approaches, we must accept the kingdom in whatever form it takes. Our prayers may not always get the answers we are looking for. God doesn’t ask us to embrace the kingdom in the form WE find most acceptable or most worthy. God asks us to embrace the kingdom in the form in which it is given…even if that form is vastly different from anything we desired or expected.
But it goes deeper than that. While we need to respect and care for children, we also need to approach our faith in a childlike way. A childlike faith has some pretty major characteristics. A childlike faith is optimistic, excited, and full of awe. Now, while these are pretty “typical” descriptions of children in general, these three areas are vital when it comes to having faith like a child. But beyond all of these things, a child like faith has a fervent belief that God loves us and will do anything and everything possible to keep us happy, healthy, and safe.
Children are optimistic. Children look at the world with so much optimism that sometimes, we as adults are hard pressed to understand. Children honestly believe the best about everyone and believe that good things will happen.. A childlike faith is also full of optimism. A child’s faith believes wholeheartedly in the good of God and God’s people. Children look at the future and say “wow, we get to do that?” or “yes. We can do that.”
Children are full of excitement. I doubt I even have to tell you this; it’s so obvious when you are around kids. Everything is exciting to them…toddlers playing in boxes, teenagers bouncing up and down over the latest thing, elementary kids screaming and laughing over something they find intriguing. Kids get excited about everything! A childlike faith is excited to be at church, excited to share with others, and excited to learn more about God and Jesus.
Children look at the world with awe and wonder. They see a cloud in the sky and stop to look at it. They see a flower growing and pick it and talk about how pretty it is—even if it’s something we adults would call a weed. They wonder why god made the sky blue or the grass green. This spirit of awe and wonder allows children to be surprised by things and accept new opportunities wide eyed and open armed. Most children I know will try anything once just to see what it is like, and while that can be dangerous, it’s also amazing. Kids let their sense of wonder override their sense of fear.
Most of all though, above the awe, above the excitement, above the optimism… children just believe. Children don’t get caught up in questions of “why should I believe?” rather, they ask “why did God make the sunset so pretty?” Children believe in all sorts of things and only stop believing when they are told something “doesn’t exist” or they are given reason NOT to believe. Unfortunately we adults are the ones who give our children reasons to not believe. We shatter their dreams with offhanded comments and inconsiderate words. Fortunately for us and for them, though, children lack the cynicism of adulthood and therefore believe in possibilities that we as adults are quick to dismiss. Their belief is so pure, so precious and so strong that they see things we can’t even imagine with our adult minds.
So, how can we have faith like a child? We can be optimistic- look for the good in everyone and everything. We can get excited about church and about learning about God and Jesus. We can develop a sense of awe. And most of all, we can believe. Believe that God will do anything possible to keep us happy, healthy and safe.
Amen.