Sermon 17th Sunday after Pentecost

Sermon:

Text: Mark 9:30-37

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ who welcomes us.

            So last week I was in Central Michigan at one of my best friend’s from College’s house.  Chip, well, David Chipman, but I had 2 friends named David in college so they both got nicknames. Chip and his wife Kristi, have one son Jonathan who just turned 2, and had twins this summer. And they asked me to be one of the sponsors for Andrew and Matthew’s baptism. With Jonathan, Andrew, and Matthew, I jokingly suggested that they had only 3 of the 12 disciples so far and wondered if they were going to try to complete the set. Chip thought that was funny, Kristi not so much. But, it was a great couple of days, filled with smiling happy children, and of course also filled with lots of crying and screaming. I learned that when a two year old doesn’t take a nap when it gets to be 8:30-9 they get really, really tired, but still don’t want to go to sleep so just cry and yell for an hour. I learned that 3 month olds like to eat every 2 hours pretty much right on schedule. For the service we got there 15 mins before and were there about 30-45 after with an hour service, so it was hitting that 2 hr block when we were wrapping up taking pictures. So, I have a great picture of me holding two babies who are just red-faced and screaming for mom. It’s beautiful.

            During the service Jonathan was the normal 2 year old, who is not going to sit still regardless of how many grandparents, aunts and uncles are there. So, he’s just running around. Chip told me this is why they normally sit in back, which I’ve heard from a number of others here as well.

            It made me think of our Gospel text for today. This is the second of three times that Jesus foretells his death and resurrection. And like each time the disciples don’t get it. The first time Peter confronts Jesus and Jesus rebukes him, the third James and John start asking to be on Jesus’ right and left hands, and this time the disciples start arguing amongst themselves who is the greatest. 

            And Jesus responds to them by saying, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then putting a child in their midst he said, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”

            As I sat recalling holding Andrew or Matthew I wondered what it was like to welcome a child. It’s doesn't seem so hard, who doesn't welcome children? Some people don’t like children, and unfortunately there are stories of children being hurt and murdered, but for the most part, if a child walks up to you with a fake cell phone and says it’s for you, you’re going to answer that phone. So, Why would welcoming children be difficult? Because that’s what Jesus is doing, he’s reframing the disciples discussion. They want to know who is greatest, Jesus tells them how to be first. Be last, and be the servant of all. That seems hard. But, then Jesus compares that to welcoming Children. That doesn't seem hard.

            We have a different idea of children than those disciples. In that time 30% of children died in infancy, 30% of those didn’t make it to 6 and 60% didn’t live to 16. It was not the happy thing that most of us see childhood now days. It was not being doted on all the time, all needs met instantly. It was if there was no food, you were the first to not get any. You were to not only not be heard unless spoken to, you were not to be in the room. You stayed away. You were on the lowest rank, level to if not lower than slaves. Now they were loved, and if they got to 16 they moved into adulthood with all of it’s benefits. But, as children they were the least.

            And yet Jesus takes a child, someone everyone would have ignored, who did not matter, and if you concentrated on them, you would lose your own status. And says to the disciples, you have to welcome this one. You have to put this one first. Put those who are last first.

            Put the orphan first, put the widow first, put the tax collector first, put the drunkard first, put the homeless first, put the hungry first, put all who we call outsider, outcast, who we look the other way when they walk near, put them first. Put those whose way of life we say is incorrect and invalid, put them first.

            This is not the first shall be last and the last shall be first, this is not role reversal, it’s instruction on how to be first, or how to be the greatest. Jesus does want us to be first, wants us to be the greatest, but it’s based on Jesus’ very different criteria. To be first, you must serve the last. We must welcome children and welcome like children, being completely open and bared. We are to not ignore the stranger, but to welcome them all the more. We are to welcome the least. To be people who greet and bring in. To be as C.S. Lewis says, “Little Christ’s” to our neighbors.

            We are to welcome, as we have been welcomed. That’s what Jesus is talking about the whole time. He is to be betrayed, killed and after three days rise again. That is Christ’s welcome to us. He puts himself at the very last. He takes all of our faults and removes them, he serves all our needs. He dies for us. He meets us when we are the least, and makes us the greatest.

            We are hurting people, we find way too often we are not the first, we are the least. The world always seems against us. Everyday is full of more and more difficulties and issues.

            We’re that red-faced child screaming because mom isn’t there; we’re the 2 year old who doesn’t understand why they are upset. We’re the child that even today is ignored by parents who don’t have time for her. We’re the hungry, the poor, the abused. And Jesus takes us in his arms embraces us and comforts us. Jesus welcomes us the way we always want to be welcomed, as who we are, imperfect, hurting people. We don’t have to change who we are to let Christ love us. Christ takes us in and shows us how to welcome, and uses us to reach out to welcome the world.

Let us pray,

God of grace. Lift us in your arms like a child. Open your grace to us, and help us to open ourselves to others. Help us to care for the least, and not only be concerned for the first. Help us to see where you call us, not where we want to go. Help us to overcome ourselves and look to others.