Welcoming the Child

There is a somber section in each of the gospels when Jesus begins to speak of his own death… when he begins to prepare his disciples for a time when he will no longer be with them.  He does this more than once and we, as readers, are caught up in the disciples’ struggle to understand the meaning of what Jesus is saying.  Initially, there is, of course, a time of denial… for the disciples… like other Jews… want Jesus to overturn the established order… bringing in the reign of God in a magnificent show of power.  Jesus quickly dispels this myth and reaffirms the certainty of his impending death… and the disciples discuss the meaning of this prediction among themselves, as they do in our text today.

Inevitably, the discussion turns inward.  If Jesus is going to die, then what will become of the disciples?  Who will be their leader?  They, of course, assume that the new leader will be one of them… one of the twelve disciples who have been following Jesus.  So, they argue about who among them is the greatest… and, thus, qualified to be their next leader. Unfortunately, they are all too human… and, when they discuss greatness, they measure that greatness in human terms.

And how do we measure greatness?   Too often, human beings attribute value… or greatness… to those who have power. Power is measured by one individual’s ability to make others do what he or she wants them to do.  It can be the power of physical force… the strength of an army that can crush all opposition.  It can be the power of position… the ability to make others submit through acknowledged authority or legislated action.  It can be the power of wealth… having the resources to purchase the cooperation of others. It can also be political power… the power to influence… to persuade others to seek a certain goal.   In all of these, there is the conviction that one human being is of greater importance and, therefore, superior to other human beings. The one who is superior… whether through physical strength, acknowledged authority, accumulated wealth, or political persuasion… exerts his or her power over those who are inferior with the expectation that those who are inferior will willingly submit their will and authority to the one who is superior.  In fact, there is almost a tacit agreement that those who are inferior will serve the one who is superior.  In human circles, there is never the expectation that the opposite might be true.

Although the disciples are unwilling to tell Jesus what they were talking about… and unwilling to admit that they were arguing over their own greatness, Jesus is well aware of the topic of the discussion.  In the silence that echoes in the stillness after Jesus asks his question, Jesus himself steps into the breach and totally subverts the status quo, telling them that “whoever wants to be first must be the last and the servant of all.”  And then, to emphasize his point, he places a young child in the middle of them, telling them that “whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me, but the one who sent me.”  And, lest you think that this is an isolated incident in the gospel of Mark, let me hasten to assure you that it is not.  On at least twelve occasions, Jesus elevates the importance of a child in his ministry… making that child the center of the story… and the recipient of Jesus’ actions.  And three times, he tells his disciples that children are their key to both understanding… and entering into … the kingdom of God.  So, my question to you today… on this Sunday that is designated “Christian Education Sunday” by our denomination… how well are we doing at welcoming the child… and thus, welcoming Jesus Christ himself… into our midst?

In ancient cultures, children had no status at all.  A minor child’s status was on par with a slave.  Children were subject to the authority of their fathers and were viewed as little more than property. Mortality rates for children were very high. Thirty percent of children born in the Ancient Near East died before their sixth birthday and sixty percent were dead before the age of sixteen. The eldest male child… as the designated heir… was perhaps more important than the other children… but he was still not recognized as an individual in his own right, until after his coming of age.  Reflecting this outlook, St. Thomas Aquinas was once asked the question, "If there was a fire, whom should I rescue first?" Thomas listed, in order of importance, “one's parents first, one's spouse second, one's children last of all.” Children were the least important. And yet, in each scenario where Jesus elevates the status of children in the gospel, the child that Jesus uses as an example is not one who has come of age.  This we know from the choice of the noun that is used… which is one that was only used of young children who had not yet come of age… or the use of the adjective preceding the noun… which makes it clear that the child is young. 

Jesus does not use the child in our text to talk about humility… instead, he uses the example of the child to challenge his disciples’ preconceived notions about who and what is important. Throughout his ministry, Jesus talked about the “little and insignificant ones” whom his followers were to receive. It was not the wealthy and the powerful… not the men who dominated the political arena… nor the property owners… or religious leaders.  Time after time, Jesus pointed to the poor… the widows… the orphans… and the young children as those with special privilege within the kingdom of God.  But there is no message that is stronger than the one that is tied to the children. Besides the one that is spoken in our text today…”whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me, but the one who sent me”… Jesus, on another occasion said, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them (he said to his disciples who wanted to keep them away from him); for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”  In another example, Jesus told his disciples that, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  And he went on to say, "If any of you put a stumbling block 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.”

Yet, it is tragic that when we are called upon to show hospitality to the children and to be their example, we most often reveal our true colors to these ones whose opinions we do not value highly. When we are in the company of our children… the powerless and the insignificant… we often drop the façade that we carefully carry with us at all other times. James Baldwin once said that “children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them”… which is probably why George Bernard Shaw said that “if you must hold yourself up to your children as an object lesson, hold yourself up as a warning and not as an example.”  I have often said that we are very good at pasting smiles on our faces when we walk through the church doors, even when we have been fighting like cats and dogs in the car during our journey to get here.  Unfortunately, it is the journey that leaves a lasting impression on our youth… and too often teaches them the hypocrisy of our religion.  If the children who are strapped into the car seat beside us were, in truth, our Savior Jesus Christ, would we do the things that we do in their presence?  Would we say the things we say that they can overhear?   How do we welcome the child as we would welcome our Savior?   There is a story that is told of a young rabbinical student who came to his rabbi and asked, “Why don’t people see God today as they did in the olden days?”  The wise old man put his hands on the young student’s shoulders and said, “The answer, my son, is because no one is willing to stoop so low.”  My question to you is this:  Is it that we are unwilling to stoop so low… or is it that we are unwilling to lift them so high?

What do we learn about our faith from our children?  Anyone who has watched young children at play knows the unbridled enthusiasm with which children approach any activity. No pile of sand is too large for them to climb.  No piece of playground equipment is too complicated for them to tackle.  No object is too strange for them to pick up and examine. Diane Netherland can tell you that they are spellbound by Bible stories… accepting them on faith and believing that their lives, too, can be changed by the appearance of angels… the voice of God… or the touch of Jesus’ hand.  Unfortunately, they often leave their Sunday School room aglow with their new-found knowledge… only to run headlong into an adult whose reception of them… and of the story… is far less enthusiastic.  How have our minds been so damaged by the jaded skepticism of the world that we no longer believe in angels?  How have our hearts been so hardened by the bitterness of others to the point that we can no longer hear the voice of God speaking to us?   How has the image of God in our souls been so battered by the relentless cruelty of life that we can no longer feel the touch of our Savior’s hand?   What will it take for us to look at the stories of our faith again through the eyes of our young people?   How will we see our Savior with the simple trust of a child?

There are two reasons why the Presbyterian Church and other denominations in the reformed tradition have made major changes their policies regarding children in worship.  The first is the recognition that nowhere in the ministry of Jesus were children were ever excluded and there were many places in the ministry of Jesus where children were specifically included. The second is the recognition that children, in their innocence, are closer to the example of faith that Jesus provided than we, in all our adult wisdom, will ever be. God is far more likely to forgive a child who creates a disturbance during our worship service during a time of innocent play, than to forgive those of us who sit silently through the same worship service, but harbor a deep bitterness and resentment against our neighbor in our hearts.

I know that there are some who still disagree with the church’s stance of allowing children who have not been confirmed the privilege of receiving the bread and wine of communion as the trays are passed among us.  In truth, their participation in the sacrament of the Lord’s Table teaches the rest of us something very important about God and our relationship with God.  One of the earliest decisions of the church fathers was to prevent a Gnostic practice of our religion.  The essence of Gnosticism is the “right knowledge” of certain secrets… this “right knowledge” being the path to salvation.  Both the Lord’s Supper and Baptism are intended to be gifts from God that are received in faith.  We do not claim these gifts through any superior intellect or knowledge of certain secrets that are kept from others until they are of age.  When young children have the audacity to receive God’s gifts… which they could in no way deserve on the basis of their intellect… knowledge… or experience… they receive those gifts in the manner in which God intended for us to receive them… unworthy, but eager… unknowing, but blessed beyond our capacity to understand.  In this act… through our children… the church can learn again the meaning of simple trust and faith.  Properly speaking, we do not observe the sacraments… we celebrate them.  We celebrate grace freely given to those who are the least worthy to receive it.  And, in the matter of a “right practice” of those sacraments, it is our children who… in their innocence and ignorance… who lead us.

So, should we listen to the voices of these young ones… even though they do not have the benefit of our years of education… our wisdom… and our experience?   Yes, “for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”   We should listen to them tell the stories of our faith… and see again, with the eyes of a child, the truth of the gospel. We should copy their enthusiastic acceptance of God’s word and their simple trust in Jesus Christ.   But should we deny these little ones the benefit of our years of education… our wisdom… and our experience?  No.  For they need us as examples of what it means to live the Christian life… and be the reflection of Christ… in the world today.  But beware!  We can as easily teach the wrong way as we teach the right way… for our children watch us all the time… ever measuring our words against our actions… and searching for the truth.

Our Youth Program today needs you… each one of you… to mentor our youth… to nurture them in their faith… to guide them through the treacherous paths of life.  At the same time, our congregation needs our youth… to be the example of faith and trust that Christ himself gave us as he taught his disciples.  We need to listen to them… to hear them speak… for, as it tells us in Psalm 8, “out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger.”   It doesn’t cost any money to welcome the child… or to listen to our children speak… sometimes speaking words of truth that cut like a two-edged sword.  It does take our time… our attention… and, perhaps, a change of focus in our lives.    Are we ready to welcome the child?  May God grant us the patience to do it… for in welcoming one such as this in the name of Christ, we welcome Christ himself… and the one who sent him.  Amen.

Mark 9:30-37