As Jesus and his entourage are on the
road heading towards Capernaum, the disciples are having a conversation. It was just idle talk, nothing major . . . it
was just something that they were talking about. They were just talking among themselves as
who was the greatest. Upon arriving at
Capernaum, Jesus was curious about what the disciples had been discussing.
Of course, the disciples are not quick
to answer because they were embarrassed.
They were embarrassed to have been caught in such a conversation . . .
socially this is not a topic that one should go about in public. Tooting one’s own horn is a social
mistake. And, they were embarrassed that
Jesus had caught them having such a trivial discussion. So, they kept their mouths shut . . . hemming
and hawing around like someone caught with his or her hand stuck in the cookie
jar.
But, Jesus knew. Jesus does not reprimand them. No, he sees this as a teaching moment. As he sits down, he calls the twelve to him,
saying: “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant
of all.” Then he had a child
come and stand beside him, taking him in his arms, Jesus demonstrates what he
means as he states: “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me;
and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” Through such an act one discovers that
greatness is not gained in smartness, wealth, status, or even power . . . it is
gained in how others are treated.
In the movie, Philadelphia, Denzel Washington plays a lawyer who is called upon
to take a controversial case for the character played by Tom Hanks. As they meet for the first time, Washington
tells Hanks, that he needs to explain his case like he is talking to a third
grader. He tells Hanks that if any third
grader can understand the case, any jury in America will also. Think of the words and actions of Jesus in
our reading this morning putting it into terms that even a third grader could
understand.
At the dedication of the Hubert Humphrey
Building dedication in Washington, D.C., on November 1, 1977, former
vice-president Hubert Humphrey spoke about the treatment of the weakest members
as a reflection of government. He said: “The
moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the
dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly;
and those who are in shadows of life, the sick, the needy, and the
handicapped.” In other words, how we
treat children, elderly, and those with disabilities is a reflection upon
society.
Children occupied an interesting place
in the first century household for Jews and Romans alike. They represented the future—they would carry
on the family name, provide for their aging parents, and produce the next
generation. But in the present, they
were a liability. They participated in
the household labor, but were not yet fully productive, and still represented
another mouth to feed. Many historians
of this time period compare the status of children in such a situation to that
of a slave. However, the power dynamics
were more powerful than that. On the one
hand, an adult slave could be “worth” more in the present; on the other hand,
even the smallest child was a member of the “household”—an honor to which a
slave was unlikely and unable to attain.
Children were insiders left on the
outside. And they are the ones Jesus
commands us to welcome. On the one hand,
this is just another instance of Jesus turning the expectations of the world
upside down. It is a great reversal in
the name of justice, which the Gospel of Luke is famous for. But on the other
hand, here in Mark’s gospel we also experience something else. With children, at least, the power dynamics
are not so black and white—it is not so much a question of who is great and who
is not, but instead it is a question of welcome.
Put another way, Jesus isn’t interested
in who we say is the greatest or even in who acts like the greatest or looks to
be great. Jesus is interested in who
acts with the greatest grace, compassion, and love. He demonstrates this in a way that even a
third grader would understand.
Kids get this. At least they get it until they start picking
up all the “bad habits” of adults that begin to separate and divide people into
the “in and out” groups.
Throughout my ministry I have always
told the congregations that I served to welcome the children into the worship
service. And, through the years, that
has been answered with a variety of responses.
It always seemed that whenever there were small children in the pews,
there were also a lot of anxious adults—parents and grandparents—who were
trying like crazy to keep the kids quiet and under control. But kids are kids . . . they make noise, they
squirm, they giggle, and they blurt out loud . . . and, why wouldn’t they. Most worship services are not designed for
children, they are designed for adults.
The end result is usually some child being hustled out of the sanctuary
. . . typically kicking and screaming the whole way!
As I said, kids are kids. I usually attempt to ease the anxiety by
declaring that . . . kids are kids, and they are just expressing what we adults
have been taught not to express when we are bored. I know the truth . . . about this time in the
service there are those of you out there who have had enough! If you could you would act just like a kid.
So, are we really welcoming to children
when we take them out of the worship service?
Are we welcoming when we keep giving the evil eye to the family in the
third pew with the squirmy children?
Probably not, but as is usual with Jesus this is about more than
children . . . it is about welcoming . . . about showing grace, compassion, and
love. About showing grace, compassion,
and love to all of God’s children.
Children get this. It comes down to how we treat one another . .
. how we treat ourselves. This is not
rocket science that Jesus is talking about . . . it is simple grace, compassion,
and love. It is stuff we all learned a
long time ago . . . probably even before we got into third grade. But we learned it.
I think that Robert Fulghum said it best
in his little essay called, All I Really
Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.
Fulghum wrote:
ALL I
REALLY NEED TO KNOW about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in
kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but
there in the sand pile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned:
·
- Share everything.
- Play fair.
- Don't hit people.
- Put things back where you found them.
- Clean up your own mess.
- Don't take things that aren't yours.
- Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
- Wash your hands before you eat.
- Flush.
- Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
- Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
- Take a nap every afternoon.
- When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
- Be aware of wonder.
- Remember the little seed in the styro-foam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
- Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
- And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.
Everything
you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic
sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.
Take any
of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it
to your family life or your work or your government or
your
world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would
be if all - the whole world - had cookies and milk about three o'clock every
afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments
had a basic policy to always put things back where
they
found them and to clean up their own mess.
And it is
still true, no matter how old you are - when you go out into the world, it is
best to hold hands and stick together.
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