YOUNG JAMES MAKES A DISCOVERY
I have already mentioned but I want to tell you more about
one of the events at our picnic and hayrack ride at Britts. In abundance at Britts were pumpkins and
dust…lots of dust. The food and
fellowship were tremendous. One of the
highlights of the evening for me was watching a special moment in the life of
little James, a child in our church. I was unable to go on the hayride because of
my hand which is now without stitches and is healing up great.
(image of James Garner on the screen)
James was quite occupied picking up hands full of dirt and
releasing them. The strong wind carried
them like streams of smoke off into the distance. With his back to the wind he could watch them
stream out like vapor trails. For about
20 minutes he was lost in wonder of the moment. It was like he was in control
of the universe. I thought of the little
boy dressed in the Darth Vader suit thinking he was controlling the car as his
dad worked the remote in the kitchen.
James’ dad was not far behind, letting him explore this part
of the universe. Can you imagine how
dirty the bathwater was that night?! I
am glad that he dad was upwind and not downwind.
At that moment I was thinking of words of a John Wesley hymn
in our UM Hymnal.
Give to the Winds Your Fears
Give to the winds your fears; hope and be undismayed.
God hears your sighs and counts your tears; God shall lift
up your head.
Through waves and clouds and storms, God gently clears the
way;
Wait for God’s time; so shall this night soon end in joyous
day.
If we get anything right.
I hope we get this. It is one of
my greatest hopes is that CAUMC will always continue to be a place of nurture
and support for families. Welcoming
children is something that Jesus loved to do, even when others did not care for
it. It was similar to his statement:
“Just as I love you, you should love one another.” John 13:34-35
I had the privilege of visiting a family has recently
visited our church, looking for a new church home. They got it…they noticed that we love kids.
The part of welcoming children comes right after a big
debate among grownups.
The author of Mark’s gospel places the children next to the debate
story to put things into perspective.
Religious experts had come to check Jesus out. These religious leaders were all wrapped up
or trapped in legal issues. They want
Jesus to give an answer that will give them ammunition to get rid of or at least
embarrass him. They want to identify him
as a threat to their religion and a threat to the government.
Jesus is hoping we will get the idea that we should be more
about open hearts, open minds, open doors, and open arms, than about
nit-picking debates. It is more about
love than judgment. It is more about
including than excluding. Children need
to know about God’s deep and fierce love for them. All of us need to know that. Remember the woman caught in adultery…Jesus
communicated to her God’s forgiving love and she got it. I hope the judgmental people that Jesus
confronted that day got it.
BACK TO THE CHILDREN
One thing I got this time, and never before was that some people brought children to
Jesus. In my mind I am always thinking parents. It does not say parents. Who were these people? I am wondering if these are followers of
Jesus bringing some of the children they adopted. These are ones that the church nursed back to
health and wholeness. Mark, years later,
was affirming that continuing practice of welcoming all children. The early church got that and never forgot
it. In the UMC even children may receive
communion.
This text made me think of the importance of having faithful
adults other than parents lifting children up to the truth of Jesus
Christ. We all need others to lift us
into the presence of Christ, especially children. Sometimes it is other adults who may speak
the Word of God, words of truth and love, even more effectively than parents
can. It may be an act of kindness by
another adult that makes a turning moment for a child or youth.
That communication might be through hugs, teaching kids to
become the persons God created them to be.
Kids need other adults to care. I
remember that as a parent there were moments when my patience evaporated. Penny and both needed help now and then in
parenting. In fact I do not think that
we can be totally faithful to our children unless there are other wonderful
adults around to claim them, care for them, and guide them. This is what baptism is about. Our children enter a community of love, the
household of God where others claim responsibility. This is when we get it.
Children may not always excel in ways that could earn our
love. We love them anyway. At the same time we want them to know our
high expectations. We all need persons
to pray for us and look after us. Other
people are needed to look after our kids and teach them about Jesus.
NOW TO THE ADULTS IN THE STORY…DO WE HAVE TO?
When Jesus arrived on the scene many persons were locked
into a self-righteous obedience and could not be free. And others were so into freedom and doing
what made them happy they ended up hurting themselves and others. Others were caught in the past and could not
see a future for themselves or the world.
Some defined life with what they could get away with within the law…not
what God wanted.
The religious experts asked him, “Is divorce legal?” Jesus could have said, ”Yes.” And that would have been the end of it. A better question would have been, “Under
what conditions is divorce for a Christian, the responsible and faithful
choice?” Or “When is divorce the most
healing thing that can happen?” Or,
“Under what conditions could divorce be a very good thing to bring about God’s
will?”
We do not have that answer from Jesus because that was not
the question. That is because the
religious experts were not after truth…they were after Jesus.
Did Jesus fit into one of the camps that believed you could
not get a divorce and be loved by God?
Then they could nail him as being against the Torah or an instigator
against the State.
In that day, a man could write a note getting rid of his
wife because she was wearing crimson and blue.
Jesus knew that some men were using legal divorce to find a easy way out
and it left the woman to a life of poverty and rejection. Jesus is here promoting marriage for the
protection of a woman. He might have
been telling the man…don’t divorce her…just marry someone else. It was legal in the law of Moses to have more
than one wife. He was asking men to be
responsible. He was saying that just
because something is legal it does not mean it is the right thing to do.
And I am certain Jesus would not want people to stay forever
in abusive situations. To stay in a
relationship that enslaves or abuses…that is not God’s intention, that is not
God’s kingdom, that is no marriage at all.
Concern over what is right in the kingdom of God is more
complicated that what is legal.
Marriage is a gift from God to help people. Hopefully two things go side by side: becoming
who God make you to be and helping the other become who God made them to be. These two things often go side by side. I sat last night by a couple who just
celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary and they were very much in
love. There are times though when
marriages changes so that one, or both, find their lives diminished, becoming
something God would not want.
Jesus is urging them and us to think in terms of the kingdom
of God. The kingdom welcome takes very
seriously what holds life together. And
when life falls apart, there is love and acceptance and support for all. With Jesus everything was changing. A new kingdom was unfolding. He asked, “What does God want for the future
so relationships can being peace, wholeness, love, and justice?” How do we do no harm? How do we do good? How do we stay in love with God?
We want to scream at the Pharisee: where is your child-like
creation faith? Where is your hope that
God is making new things happen and you cannot dwell in nit-picking
issues. They were not coming to gain any
wisdom. They are hoping to pin him down
or trap him into saying things that are chargeable offenses.
Jesus’ approach made the very comfortable squirm. Jesus made the very uncomfortable feel
affirmed. If we see ourselves as
helpless and useless or undervalued or worthless…God has a new plan for
you. If we see ourselves as God’s most
valuable gifts to all people deserving of every good thing all the time, then
God has a re-alignment plan.
Welcome children! You
are loved here! Welcome those of you who
have lived through the pain of divorce!
Yesterday is over. You are loved
here! Welcome judgmental religious folk,
you are loved here too. God will bind us
together in love.
Bonhoeffer – Being a Christian is less about cautiously
avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God’s will. God is always making things new, including
you and me.
