First Lutheran Church
September 19, 2021 + The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost B
Mark 9:30-37
30[Jesus and the disciples went on] and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it;31for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” 32But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.
33Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” 34But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. 35He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” 36Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, 37“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
Sermon
This week’s Gospel begins with Jesus once again reminding his disciples that that the path he is on will lead to a great conflict, one that will cost him his life. Yet death will not have the last word. And once again the disciples don’t seem to get it. Oblivious to what lies ahead and the consequences, as they travel along the disciples begin to inexplicably argue amongst themselves as to which one of them is the greatest.
When they arrive at their destination for the day, Jesus asks them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” They don’t respond, - they are embarrassed. In this moment Jesus sets them down, seeks out a child, puts the child among them, and then lifts the child up, holding the child in his arms, he proclaims, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
Do you see what is happening here, in the movement, in the action? Jesus reminds the disciples that greatness is not what they think it is, it is not about worldly power, but rather it is about hospitality, it is about humility, it is about serving the little ones.
In the next chapter in Mark’s gospel, the tenth chapter, Jesus will once again turn to a child to instruct the disciples about the nature of the Kingdom of God. “People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.” (Mark 10-13-16)
In Luke’s version of the same story he adds, “Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:17)
So it is that Jesus makes children - signs of the Kingdom, examples of faith, and key to the understanding of our mission, what it means to follow Jesus. Today we are invited to consider, and perhaps reconsider, just what it is about children that opens us up to the nature of God, the presence of God, and our relationship with God.
The first temptation with today’s text is to sentimentalize the connection, to lift up the idealized nature of children as pure and innocent, meek and mild, good and unselfish, open and accepting, genuine and good. After all that’s what it means to be childlike, right? Yeah, maybe, but we all know that children can also be - childish!
One of my favorite theologians these days is Debi Thomas, you are probably becoming familiar with that name, because I quote her all the time. I was particularly interested in reading what she had to say about this week’s text, about Jesus and children, because she is not a seminary professor but rather an active children’s minister! She works with children all the time. And I found her response to this temptation to sentimentalize the connection between children and faith very interesting and thought provoking. She writes, “Well, I don’t know children like that; the ones I know are far more interesting. They’re feisty, clever, quick, fierce, generous, selfish, naughty, obedient, curious, bored, quiet, loud, challenging, funny, surprising, solemn, and exhausting. I think Jesus knew as much when he described children as trustworthy representations of God.”
So, keeping the “true nature” of children in mind, as described by Thomas, let us honestly consider how welcoming children, and becoming childlike in our understanding of faith, might open us up to the true nature of God, the presence of God, and deepen our relationship with God. Thomas suggests we explore these possibilities: imagination, questions, abundance, and divine power.
Children are free to imagine and reimagine God. They don’t limit themselves to preconceived notions, they are not limited by doctrine, dogma, or theology. Children can take a few markers and some construction paper, some clay or building blocks, and imagine the whole kingdom of God. And while it may look like just a bunch of squiggles, and while they may draw outside the lines, while it might be messy; when you ask them to explain what they are creating they can tell you the gospel story, the story of God’ love, as they understand it, as they experience it. Today our children will gather for messy church, and that’s exactly what will happen! In today’s Gospel the disciples can’t begin to understand Jesus’ teaching about the resurrection, they can’t even begin to imagine something beyond death. When Jesus invites us to welcome the children, Jesus is inviting us to open up our imaginations, to wonder freely once again in the realm of endless possibilities. Perhaps that is where God is waiting to meet us, perhaps we should all visit Messy Church today!
Children are free to ask questions, even the hard questions. Children are curious, they are not embarrassed because they don’t know the answer, and they’re willing to risk social discomfort, (yours and mine,) to get to the truth. And children are persistent with their questions. “But why?” In today’s Gospel the disciples are afraid to ask Jesus any questions about the things they don’t understand. When Jesus invites us to welcome the children, when Jesus invites us to receive the kingdom of God like a child, Jesus invites us to ask questions, even the hard questions. For it is these kinds of questions that lead us into the holy intimate conversations that help us grow spiritually, that place us in the presence of that Living Word of God.
Children teach us to trust in God’s abundance. Thomas writes, “Young children generally expect that there’s enough to go around. Enough time, enough hugs, enough attention, enough love. (Also, enough Teddy Grahams, cheddar-flavored Goldfish, and Munchkin donuts!) It doesn’t occur to them to fear scarcity unless they’re conditioned to do so; left to themselves, they assume plenitude.” To welcome the child, to be childlike in your faith is not to argue about who is the greatest, but rather it is to trust in the generosity, sufficiency, and abundance of Jesus. It is not a competition! In Jesus there is more than enough.
And finally, we are invited to see in children – divine power. In the time of Jesus children were socially invisible. They were totally dependent on the hospitality and tolerance of others. They were powerless in the system. Children are often at the mercy of those who are older, bigger, and stronger than they are. Yet Jesus lifts them up as signs of the kingdom, examples of faith, and the key to our mission as followers of Jesus. We are reminded that Jesus came into the world as a helpless child, born not into power but into poverty, “born in a stable because there was no room for him in the inn.” In lifting up children Jesus challenges the hierarches of this world. The disciples don’t get it, they argue about greatness, they are “stern” with the children that approach Jesus, they don’t have time for the children. They forget that true power, divine power is experienced in serving others, in serving the children, in serving those who are truly powerless in our world. “Do you want to see God?” Thomas writes, “Look to the weak, the small, the simple, the vulnerable, and the helpless. Look to the ones who are not in charge. Look at the tiniest faces, and see God.” When Jesus invites us to welcome the child, Jesus invites us into the power of servanthood, the power of the Kingdom of God.
On this day we gather together as nothing less than the children of God. That’s what Jesus has proclaimed in our baptism, that each of us indeed are - a beloved child. Be that child; receive that love, imagine that love, question that love, trust that love, and practice that love. As you have been welcomed into the arms of Jesus, welcome others into those abundant arms through your arms. For it is in these arms that we are in the very presence of God. “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
Amen.