Mark My Words. "The Most Important Thing"

Readings; Psalm 146, Deuteronomy 6:1-9, Hebrews 9:11-14, Mark 12: 28-34
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, October 31, 2021

If somebody asked you what was the most important thing in life, how would you respond?

I'm sure you know the account of Moses leading the people out of slavery in Egypt to a new land of freedom. As the people were beginning a new life together there needed to be some ground rules, some ideas that shaped them and made them who they were. In the Old Testament the Book of Deuteronomy tells us how, before they reached the promised land, Moses gave the people some commands.

Deuteronomy 6: Verses 4 and 5, we read these words... “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”... that became known as the 'Shema'.

The traditions Moses began have been preserved to this day among our Jewish sisters and brothers. On the doorposts of traditional Jewish homes (and many not-so-traditional homes!) you will often find a small case known as a 'Mezuzah' attached to the doorpost. Sometimes those entering the house will pause to touch it and offer a prayer. Inside the 'Mezuzah' is scroll with the words of the 'Shema' written upon it.

In you attended a local synagogue you might notice that when some of the men come to worship, they have a leather pouch, known as a 'tefillin' or 'phylactery' strapped to their head or on their arm. In the pouch are the words of the 'shema'... 'Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.'

They take quite literally the command of Moses that these laws were to be written on the door frames of their houses and tied on their hands and bound on their foreheads. If every time you go in and out your house, there's the law on the door, then it helped you remember. If you have that law physically attached to you, then it's hard to ignore it. We were asking earlier, 'What's important?” That's how important the command of God is to them.

Our Bible reading from Mark's gospel had a very religious Jewish gentleman, a teacher of the law no less, coming to Jesus with a question. “Which is the most important commandment?” Jesus answers him with the 'shema'. 'Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.'

But then Jesus adds something else. A second command that was just as important as the first one. 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Jesus puts it out there! Loving God and loving our neighbor are the most important things.  Jesus saw how even the most religious people could do one and sometimes forget about the other! They were so busy thinking about God that they forgot to think about other people!

That's a reminder for us as a church. Somebody once said, “The church is the only institution in the world whose main reason for existing is the benefit of those who are not its members!” We worship our God in order that we may go out and serve our neighbor.

I've been in churches where they say or have printed in their bulletins at the end of the Sunday service something like “The worship is over, now the service begins,” or even, “The service is over, now the worship begins”... because worship is all about service, not just about saying prayers or singing hymns!

The teacher of the law in our account agrees with Jesus. He says to Jesus “You are right! 'Loving God' and 'Loving neighbor' is a whole lot more than “all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” The people in those days would have special offerings that helped them feel forgiven and acceptable to God. But sometimes they left it there. They got themselves right with God but then didn't do a whole lot about helping others to know about God's love!

Today is Reformation Sunday. The Reformation’s beginning is seen as the moment Martin Luther nailed a series of suggested changes to be made to religious practice of the Church on the door of Wittenberg Cathedral. This was not an unusual act; his words were among many notices that would be pinned to the door for folks’ discussion and enlightenment.

Yet his observations really took hold and began to be spread. These days we’d call it “Going Viral.” He was laying down a challenge to a church that had fallen away from what it was meant to be. He was recalling them to what really mattered in church life, in discipleship, in being a representative, of the love and forgiveness he had experienced through his faith in Jesus Christ.

He had had this experience where he tried so hard to do everything right. To be acceptable. To be devoted. And it brought him no peace. Only when a passage in the book Romans, hit his heart, a passage about being justified before God only by faith in the grace offered by the Lord Jesus Christ, did everything start to fall into place for him. His love for God and for God’s people and for God’s church was inflamed. And he could not keep quiet about that!  

And it all brings me back to asking... so what is really important? 

What really matters? Money? Power? Winning? Losing? Caring? Loving? Scripture reminds me that, as a minster of the gospel, it is my privilege, and my responsibility, to place before us the words of Jesus Christ and to lift before us all, what He said was most important. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'… 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."  
 
Our calling as Christians is to put God first and make the love of God the most important thing in our lives. Not politics. Not work. Not success or prosperity. Not Church. Not family. Not country. Not self. That's not easy! It takes time and effort and devotion. But scripture assures us that it is worth it.

Because as we focus on God, we are reminded of the things God has done for us. God has given us a wonderful world in which to live. God sent Jesus to be our Savior, example, and friend. God sends the Holy Spirit to let us know that we are free and forgiven and to give us the strength to love and serve our neighbors.

Worship is important. It reminds us that our lives are not our own and that every moment we spend on this planet is a gift. Like any gift, we choose how we use it. We can seek God's way or go our own way.

Service is important. It reminds people that they belong to God and God cares about them. We seek to love God and love our neighbor.

It is not our practice to nail documents for discussion to the church door, or to write the law on our gateposts or wear pouches with the law on our heads or arms.

Yet many of us may have pictures or plaques with bible verses on them in our homes. Many of us may well wear a cross somewhere near our heart as a reminder of what we believe.  

Through dying on the Cross Jesus showed us that there were no places in life, however tragic or awful, that God is not prepared to go to that we may understand God's love and forgiveness. Jesus was betrayed, rejected, mocked, tortured, and murdered. He faced pain, humiliation, and all this when His only crimes were loving the unlovable, accepting the outcast and blessing those others wanted to curse.

He went to the Cross for us, as Paul explains, 'He died that we may be forgiven.' Such was the great gospel truth the reformation sought to recover. It’s not about us. It’s about what God has done for us. Though people acted as though Jesus were their enemy, Jesus treated them like a neighbor and invites us to make our neighborhood the Kingdom of God.

The commandments are important. Our Scriptures are important. Our history is important. The Reformation was important. Our church is important. Our families are important. Our communities are important. Our politics is important. Our nations are important.  Our friends are important. But what is the most important thing? Love. Always love. Always love. Always love,

Jesus tells us, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'… 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

If we take those words to heart, we may also discover, as did the teacher of the law all those years ago, that, as Jesus says in verse 34 "You are not far from the kingdom of God."

Because it is as we do the things Jesus invites us to do, that we realize His love is with us! May God help us to always be mindful of the most important things!

May God impress upon us the importance and challenge of being disciples who love.

Who love God.  

Who love their neighbor.  

Amen.

The Reverend. Adrian J. Pratt B.D.

Mark My Words. "Bartimaeus"

Readings:  Psalm 126, Jeremiah 31:7-9, Hebrews 7:23-28, Mark 10:46-52
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, October 24, 2021

When things go wrong most people cry out for help. 'God, help us!’ When everything else has failed, a desperate prayer, often little more than wishful thinking, is offered. 'God help me!' When there’s nothing left to lose, only then will some people start yelling into the unknown.

The gospel of Mark gives us a story of a man at rock bottom who meets Jesus and is transformed. His name is Bartimaeus, a blind beggar man sitting by the road, pushed aside by the crowd. I sense that there is a bit of the Spirit of Bartimaeus in us all.

Blind . . . well maybe not in a physical sense, but we can be blind to the things that really count in life. Endlessly pursuing unreachable ideals. Hoping something good will happen next time, or maybe the time after. But are our ideals worth pursuing? What if nothing good happens next time? What of such things as love, beauty, and truth? What place in our lives have they--how much do they matter?

Beggars… again not in a material sense, but spiritually speaking we can be living in total poverty. We can talk a lot about God but know God very little. We can talk a lot about prayer, yet often our prayers boil down to little more than cries for help and we can find praying an empty, desperate, and desolate task.

Sitting by the road . . . sometimes we feel life is passing us by. Feelings of isolation, loneliness, just being left out of it all are common amongst most people. Pushed aside by the crowd . . . who wants to know our problems? Who cares about us, everyone’s too busy getting on with their own lives . . . our cries are drowned out amongst the crowd.

The situation of Bartimaeus, a blind beggar man sitting at the side of the road, pushed aside by the crowd. Bartimaeus came to Jesus and was healed

The story starts out with an act of recognition. At the lowest level, Bartimaeus sees his only hope in the person of Christ. He persists in his request for help in spite of what others around him suggest. Secondly there is response  … he hears the call of Jesus to come to Him and he makes known to Jesus exactly what is on his mind. Finally, there’s reception. He receives from Jesus new vision and resolves to follow Him.

It starts out with an act of recognition

'When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, Bartimaeus began to shout, ‘Jesus! Son of David! Take pity on met’ Many of the people scolded him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted even more loudly. ‘Son of David, take pity on me! ‘'

Can you imagine the scene if some famous person were visiting today. A reception would be laid on. Important people would be informed. The police would be out in force. Crowds would line the roadside.

Imagine the embarrassment if among the crowd there was an old blind beggar who insisted on shouting at the top of his voice 'Take pity on me.' No doubt people would say 'Sh . . don’t make a fuss.' There would be an air of embarrassment. No one likes a scene.

Such a situation would be similar to that of Bartimaeus when Jesus came to town. He shouted out 'Jesus, have mercy on me!' and the crowd told him to be quiet. But he kept shouting. He knew that Jesus was the only one who could meet his need. The doctors had failed him. The crowd were embarrassed by him and pushed him aside. What had he to lose? If only he could get through to Jesus then he’d be fine.

As we gather together to worship God, God’s promise is that He will be present in the power of the Holy Spirit. Bartimaeus was blind. He couldn’t see Jesus, but he sensed something was happening! He’d heard enough about Him to think that Jesus was worth seeking out and worth shouting about.

The voices of the crowd come to him, scolding him, telling him to be quiet. So today may voices come to us. 'Don’t take this too serious. Even if you shout it out, nobody’s going to hear you! Jesus hasn’t got time to deal with your problems. He has more important things to do.'

The gospel proclaims Jesus is interested and that He’s already dealt with our problems. When over 2000 years ago, they nailed Him to a cross, the cry came from His lips—'It is finished' . . . His work was complete. In a once-and-for-all act, he took the penalty of sin, bore the burden upon Himself, and broke its power for eternity.

The first thing we see in Bartimaeus’ story is recognition of Christ. Bartimaeus recognized his need of Christ and was persistent in shouting out for that need to be met in spite of what the crowds said. What happened next? There is response.

V49 - 'Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’ So they called the blind man. ‘Cheer up,’ they said. ‘Get up; He is calling you.’ He threw off his cloak, jumped up, and came to Jesus. ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Jesus asked him. ‘Teacher,’ said the blind man, ‘ I want to see again."

Prayer is one of the greatest privileges of Christian life. We are called to persevere in prayer--as Paul wrote to the Ephesians (6:18) 'Pray on every occasion as the Spirit leads--for this reason keep alert and never give up. Pray always for all God’s people.'

One reason why prayers don’t always seem to be answered is that we give up too easily. We give up too easily because we don’t seriously believe in our hearts that God is listening and prepared to answer. How different was the plea of Bartimaeus. He kept yelling. He wholeheartedly believed Jesus was interested in him and could restore his vision. 

If something is important, then it will be on our lips in prayer to God. If our prayer is not from the heart, then God will see through the words and hear what our heart’s actually saying.

Bartimaeus yelling in the crowd was his prayer from the heart. It Jesus stopped in His tracks. Jesus said 'Call him.' Jesus calls us. We read God’s Word in the Bible, and it calls us to modify our vision on life. We look at the symbols of faith, the cross, bread and wine, water of baptism, and they are all calls of Jesus for us to come to Him.

When we pray, God calls us to see what Christ has accomplished for us in the cross. He calls us to encounter Him in the risen power of His Spirit. That is God’s response to us. How, then, should we respond to God? Bartimaeus was told to do two things. 'Cheer up' and 'Get up.'

'Cheer up'--if we believe God is calling us then we should respond with joy. The fruits of the Spirit are described as love, joy, and peace. To our shame, formal worship of God can be a joyless experience. 'People fall asleep! Church is boring!' These are accusations laid at our door. 

Someone has put it rather cynically 'When you’re thinking of heaven, put a smile on your face; when you’re thinking of hell, your normal face will do!' Yet this should be the most joyful place in town today--because Jesus is here and is calling us to cheer up--for He knows all about our worries and problems.

We’ve also got to 'Get up.' In Bartimaeus case, he threw off his cloak, jumped up, and came to Jesus. For a blind man, that really was a leap of faith. Beggars don’t usually have much in the way of possessions. But a cloak was a valuable piece of clothing. You could sleep in it at night, wrap it around to keep out the cold, sit on it during the day. He probably knew the texture of the cloth, rather like a well-worn pair of shoes. There’s nothing as comfortable as that which you’re used to. It was, even though not much of a cloak, worth looking after and protecting. It was all he had.

Responding to the call of Jesus means being prepared to leave our particular cloak behind. It means rethinking our attitudes and values in the light of His teaching. It means casting off those things which are not to the glory of God in our lives. To put it in the words of Scripture--casting off our cloak of unrighteousness and putting on a garment of praise.

When we respond to God by 'cheering up' and 'getting up,' we place ourselves in a position where we can bring Him our requests and needs with the assurance that He is listening and able to meet them. Once Bartimaeus had gone forth in faith, Jesus asked 'What do you want me to do for you? Bartimaeus says, 'Teacher, I want to see again.'

A simple request and an obvious one for a blind man to make, and his need is met. His story ends V52 - '‘Go,’ Jesus told him ‘Your faith has made you well.’ At once he was able to see and followed Jesus on the road. ‘'

We all need healing. The love of Christ brings healing to a sick world. We can be spiritually dead. For Bartimaeus, the final step in his healing process was one of reception. He had already shown his faith by recognizing in Christ the answer to his needs and responding to His call. He had made the request. All that he had to do was to receive His healing. Jesus spoke the word, and it was done.

God has shown His love for us in Christ crucified. That death has dealt already with all our problems. If that is to be real in our own lives, we need to receive the Spirit, receive for ourselves the Spirit of the Living God. Only then will we see clearly how we can follow Jesus along roads in our present life that lead to His kingdom.

Jesus healed blind Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus was a man who recognized his need of Christ’s touch in spite of the voices of the crowd and wouldn’t keep quiet about it, for he knew that only Christ could truly meet his need. He was a man who responded to the call of Christ by launching out in faith, being prepared to leave the old way behind and look for the new. 

This was his joy... to respond to the call of Christ. He was a man who received. His faith translated into action. His actions meant he was in a position that Christ could say to Him 'What do you want me to do for you.' He made his request and his need was met. A vision restored and new life in Christ’s service.

If we come to Jesus as did Bartimaeus, He will also meet our needs. He has enough love for each one of us. That is the message of the story of Bartimaeus. If we come to Jesus as we are, if we seek Him for we know He alone can meet our need, then we shall not be disappointed. Resolve in your heart today to make time for meeting with Jesus, for He is closer to us than we even dare to imagine.

To God’s name be all honor, power, and glory. Amen.

The Reverend. Adrian J. Pratt B.D.

Mark My Words. "Camels and Needles"

Readings: Psalm 22:1-15, Deuteronomy 28:1-9, Hebrews 7:23-28, Mark 10:17-30
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian, NY, October 10 2021

Mark 10, verse 25; “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God"

Let me begin today with a story about Alice the Camel and her 3 friends.
A dog. A horse. And a donkey.

"Alice the Camel had a hump. At least one hump. As you know (of course) that is what made her different from a horse. Humps could get in the way.  Particularly if you filled your hump with provisions that you were saving for a rain-less day.  You never knew when you were going to have to go trundling through the desert wastelands. "I shall be prepared" she said.  A hump was also handy for hanging things on. It was surprising just how much stuff the back of a camel could store.  "I never go nowhere without me hump" she had a habit of saying.

Humps also slow you down a bit. Alice never jumped out of bed with anything on her face other than a "Hummppff". It is not so easy to embrace the morning with a smile when you can hardly get to your feet.  She didn't usually like going places at all. If you asked her to come to your place and spend some time with you she had a habit of being so busy keeping her hump and the things she packed around it in order that she would refuse.

Mind you, having a hump had its h'advantages.  Self-sufficiency brought with it independence. When everyone else had to go to the store every day to stock up, she only had to make a trip to the nearest oasis once a month. Nibble on a few palm leaves, nice, tasty fig here and there, and you didn't have to bother with no one and no one had to bother with you.

One day, Alice the camel had to go to the city.  It was a real busy day and most of the Gateways in the city wall were blocked with traffic.  On the way into Jerusalem she met a horse, a donkey and a dog who were heading in a different direction. She thought "I think I'll follow those fellows".

They led her to a gate in the walls that was known as the "Needle Gate", on account of it being rather slim and low. "Woof" the dog went through. "Hee-Haw" the donkey went through. "Clippity Clop" and the horse was through to the other side.

Now it was her turn. She put her head through, but then all the stuff she had stuffed on her back became stuck. So, they had to shove her back. "Lighten the load" said the horse. So she shed some stuff and tried again. "Hee-Haw' said the donkey (Which she understood as meaning take some more things off your back). So, she shed more stuff and tried to stuff herself through the gap. Nothing doing. "Woof" said the dog (As dogs have a habit of doing) and she dropped everything she was carrying and tried to sqeeeee - eee - zzze through the gap. But .. no. Her hump could not handle it.

"Humppff" she said. "How am I going to do this?" The dog, the donkey and the horse suggested that if they tied a rope around her neck, maybe they could pull her through. So, they tied, they pulled, they tugged with all their strength. "Your strannngggling me' she spluttered. The rope snapped followed by a "Woof," "Hee-Haw" and an "Ouch" as the animals catapulted backwards onto the floor.

"We'll have to push her from behind' suggested the horse. So, they all stood at her rear and pushed and shoved with their shoulders and their backs and their legs and their arms. Alice squeee- ee- ee- ezed slowly through the gap. The dog, the donkey and the horse pushed and pushed and pushed. Alice squee-ee-ee-zed and squee-ee-zed until suddenly, with an almighty PLOP, she shot through the Needle Gate and they all landed on the other side of the wall in a heap.

By laying aside all her possessions and with a little help from some passing friends she had managed to squeeze on through to the other side.

After they had picked themselves up off the floor and dusted themselves down, a man who had been watching from a distance approached them. "Now" he said, "That was quite impressive." He reached into his pocket. He pulled out a shiny, tiny, needle which sparkled in the sunlight. "For a real challenge" he said, holding up the needle in the air, you try and squeeze yourselves through that little hole, the eye, that we put the thread through."

The dog, the donkey, the horse and Alice the camel all laughed and laughed and laughed They were all in agreement. "Woof, Hee-Haw, don’t be stupid, That's impossible" they said!"

So ends our story.

Meanwhile, in another place, at another time and this time not in fantasy but in reality, Jesus told His disciples, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God." He had spoken those words because a very rich young man had come running up to Him and said, "Good Teacher, I have kept the commandments all my life, What must I do to gain eternal life?"

Jesus had looked him in the eye and said, "Why do you call me good? No-ones good except God." Then he had told the young man, "There's one thing you need to do to find salvation. Sell everything you have and give it to the poor." Because the young man was very rich, loaded in fact, he had walked away like a sad puppy with his tail between his legs.

After seeing what had happened the disciples were thrown into confusion. They had always had the impression that if you kept the commandments and God blessed you with health, wealth and prosperity then you were heaven bound with no questions asked. They themselves had left everything, family, friends and possessions. Surely that was worth a bit in the eyes of the Almighty?  They were therefore astonished at His answer to the rich man and even more astonished when He told them, "Children, how hard it is for anyone to enter the Kingdom of God!"

They were worried. "Well look if that man who kept the commandments can't be saved, if we who have left everything to follow you can't be saved, what’s the deal here?" And Jesus replied, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God." He implies that by the grace of God, camels can fit through the eyes of needles, and people can find salvation.

When Alice the camel shed her possessions, she was acting a little like the rich young ruler. She needed to squee-ee-zze through the gate. How could she? Well by a process of reorganization, follow a few simple rules, then no problem, she would be through. Likewise, the young ruler believed that if he could make himself good enough by observing the commandments of God, then that is all there was to it.  Eternal life was in the bag.

Problem was he had a hump. Every commandment he kept, everything he was doing for his salvation was only for the benefit of one person in the world. Himself. He was the center of his own tiny universe and needed to be reminded that God's Salvation was not about him, it was something larger and grander than his cozy life.  There were people out there who needed practical help.  He had the means of supplying it.  If he started to do that, then he would be starting to understand what the Kingdom was all about. So, Jesus tells him, "Sell everything you have and give to the poor."

The disciples were more in the position of Alice the Camel who needed her friends help to squeeze them through the gate but then found themselves with the impossible task of now squeezing through the eye of a real needle.  Peter complains to Jesus, "We have left everything to follow you." Through the things that He is saying Jesus is challenging the disciples to think. "Now, why did you leave everything to follow me?  What is your motive? If you are only doing it to gain your own salvation, then you are wasting your time."

They had gone further than the rich man. They had made it through one narrow gate and on the other side were with a company of friends.  But now it was time for the real challenge of discipleship. A real needle. Could they leave everything, including their personal desires for comfort, for self-advancement, their dreams for the future and hopes of how things might turn out when Jesus was crowned Messiah, could they leave all that behind?

They needed to. Because Jesus was not going to turn out to be the sort of Messiah they were expecting.  His was not going to be a victory won by zapping the enemy with lightning bolts from beyond. His victory was to be won through loving the unlovely, through bringing dignity to those others looked down upon, through undeserved suffering, a death on a cross and a resurrection from an empty tomb.

What was impossible for man, God was working in their midst. He, Jesus Christ, was the bearer of salvation, the way, the truth and the life.  Only through total reliance on Him, would they ever experience the salvation of the Kingdom.

The game play has not changed. There is still not a thing we can do to earn our salvation, other than throw our lives upon the grace and mercy of God.  

Being good at keeping the commandments will not do it, because none of us is that good. 

 Leaving it all behind will not do it because none of us ever leaves everything behind.

We need to come to Jesus and ask, "What must I do to gain eternal life?" We may have to give up a lot.  Our dreams.  Our pride.  Our self-sufficiency. In fact, any activity that takes us away from the obligation and privilege of worshiping and serving God in the company of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

To truly be a disciple we must literally surrender to Christ in our hearts all that we are and all that we own. We need to say to Jesus, "This is everything I am and everything I have, my time, my talents, my relationships, my stuff, and it's all Yours to do with as You please."

If we can do that then like the disciples, we will be rewarded by so much more. Jesus tells Peter; "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age -- houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields... with persecutions -- and in the age to come eternal life."

Strawberries and Cream, Love and Marriage, Horse and Carriage, they go together. Camels and Needles.  They do not fit together.  Go ask Alice. You just can't get a camel through the eye of a needle.

 And we never truly will discover the Kingdom until we are prepared to offer up everything for its sake. In the kingdom of God it is through abandonment that we find all things, it is when we are prepared to let go that we let God; it is when we give ourselves to others that we find our true selves.

Of course, it is a daunting challenge. The noblest things in life have always been worth living and dying for. May God help us to live as Kingdom people, not as camels who are trying to sqee-eee-eeze through the eyes of needles.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.

Mark My Words. "The Man with a child in His Eyes"

 

Readings: Psalm 26, Job 1:1+2:1-10, Mark 10:13-16, Hebrews 1:1-4+2:5-12
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, October 3, 2021

 Many moons ago there was an English singer/songwriter called Kate Bush who had a hit with a song that was hauntingly titled, ‘The Man with the Child in His eyes’. The song was about a strained unfaithful relationship that she had become involved in. In our reading from Mark’s gospel this morning, Jesus has a child in His eyes as He illustrates the nature of true faith.

I like the way Eugene Petersen tells this story in ‘the Message’ Bible:

“The people brought children to Jesus, hoping He might touch them. The disciples shooed them away. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: "Don't push these children away. Don't ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in." Then, gathering the children up in His arms, He laid His hands of blessing on them.”

In an earlier passage in Mark, that is about about greatness, Jesus used a child to teach the disciples that if they really wanted to be great, they should look to the needs of the least able to help themselves who were around them. In serving them, they would be doing the work of His Kingdom. This time a child is used as an illustration of genuine faith and trust.

The account begins with people trying to reach Jesus but being prevented from doing so by His disciples. We then see Jesus rebuking His disciples for getting in the way and how Jesus uses the simple trust of a child as an illustration of genuine faith. The story concludes with Jesus blessing the children. Let’s follow this story through.

1) The desire of the people for blessing.

I have encountered people who have said to me that they are looking for a spiritual life, but that they feel the church is not the place to find it. Their encounters with church folk have not been helpful. Whilst not physically having been ‘shooed’ away, they went along to a church… and just did not feel they fitted in.  

Some felt ignored. Nobody welcomed them. Others felt overwhelmed. It was as though as soon as they walked through the door everybody wanted them on their committees. Some just could not relate to the unwritten rules of a particular church, what they should wear, where they should or shouldn’t sit, when they should stand up, how they should sing.  

We may not physically ‘shoo’ people away but in a hundred different ways we can give the impression that ‘This is our Church and if you want to be a part of it, then you better wise up and do things our way.’ The tragedy is that those who come through our doors are looking for something no different than those who were around Jesus that day.

They are searching for a blessing, an encounter with God that lets them know they are loved by God and valued by God. That’s what we are here for! To offer the Good News! The good and great news that the Grace of God is greater than all our needs, able to transform the lives of everyday people like you and me. And so, we see the second aspect of the story.

2) Jesus rebukes the disciples and offers up a child as an example of true faith.

Jesus scolds the disciples in a similar way to a parent scolding a naughty child. “Stop pushing people around. Get over yourselves and let them come to me.’ Oh… those disciples… so like us. They knew exactly who should be allowed into Christ’s presence and who should not. They made the rules. Potential Pharisees… every one of us.  We would love to get to say who was in the in-crowd and who was left out.

The Grace of God is so much more lavish than we are prepared to be. The Grace of God shown through Jesus welcomed sinners and outcasts and dirty faced children and immoral men and women and lepers and those who were considered of no account. The Grace of God is offered to all, and those who seek to get in the way, are rebuked.

Elsewhere we find Jesus proclaiming, “It is not those who are healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)

I went for a physical the other day and aside from needing to make a few dietary adjustments, I am in good physical shape. Not as good as I was when I was five years old… but I am, in general, physically fine.

Spiritually speaking I suspect my diagnosis is a lot worse than when I was five years old. When I was five years old, I’m sure I had bad days but, generally speaking, life was a mystery approached with wide eyed innocence. I did not have all those worries and concerns that I now have. I could laugh and cry and not care if it were appropriate. I liked to play because playing was an exercise in discovery. I got excited by bright colors and little creatures. I hadn’t learnt to hold grudges but knew how to give a hug that meant nothing but ‘Boy, it’s good to be alive…Thank you… I love you…Catch me if you can.’

Where did all that go? Paradise lost. Innocent no more. No matter how much we may desire to fly away with Peter Pan, Neverland remains just what it says, a place we can never get to, because we have lived our lives and we have made compromises. We have as many regrets as we have causes for pride and whatever it was in childlike innocence, we presumed life would bring our way… we managed to warp it, to twist it, or make it less than it should or could have been.

Someone told me one time they were looking for the perfect church. I wished them all the luck in the world, but I told them, “Look, if you find it, warn me.  I do not wish to walk through the door of a perfect church. Scripture teaches that we are all sinners, we are all imperfect. If I become part of a perfect church, it is ruined

The wonderful thing about Jesus is that He never accommodates such a view. He never says to sinners like us, “You don’t belong here.”  However, He does tell all those who would keep others from the presence of God, “Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in.”

Being the intelligent adults that we are, we could no doubt spend a whole lot of time analyzing exactly what Jesus meant by ‘simplicity’ and who exactly He was referring to when He spoke of the ‘child.’  I suspect that the act of doing so would cause us to completely miss the point.

I remember watching kids one Christmas visiting Santa’s Grotto. Whilst there were always a few of them who had their suspicions that the old guy with the beard was not all he was made out to be, the majority would just run up, jump on his knee, and get busy with the wish list.

Santa asked one of them, “Have you been good this year?” The kid said, “Well, I didn’t try to be bad.”  In my minds eye I picture Jesus blessing the children in this passage as something like that. A smile. An acknowledgment of their importance and significance.

Or maybe something like the way He is pictured in stained glass window cradling a little lamb in His arms, the Good Shepherd who cares for His Sheep. The prophet Isaiah reminds us, ‘We all like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to their own way.” (Isaiah 53:6). Which brings us to our third part of the story.

3) Jesus blesses the Children
Verse 16 “Then, gathering the children up in His arms, He laid His hands of blessing on them.”

Can we allow Jesus to take us in His arms this morning? We who have entered into this time of worship with our sin stained, compromised, oh so grown-up lives, can we humble ourselves before God and admit defeat?

Are we prepared to let go and let God? Can we who are so obsessed with doing rediscover the simple fact of being? Being a child of God! Knowing that God cares for us! Trusting God that as we place our lives into God’s care then the Holy Spirit will come as our Counsellor, as our encourager and as our Helper that we may live in the way Christ calls us to?

Can we say to God, as we come to the communion table this morning, “I have messed up. I need help. Without Your Grace I am lost.”

See… this is the Good News. God sent Jesus Christ to die upon the Cross to forgive us and free us from all our sin, that we may be born afresh, born anew, born again. He was raised from death that we may know that there is nothing in death or life, in the way the world is or the way the world shall be that can separate us from the love of God.

Jesus promises that as we seek to live by the values of God’s Kingdom then God will send to us the Holy Spirit to empower us and encourage us.

It is not complicated. It is not rocket science. It is about being able to trust our life, with all of its garbage and all of the things we are going through, to be guided and molded by the love of God.

Then we will taste and see the salvation of the Lord and know that the Lord is good and we will desire to share that goodness with others in the way we live our life. “Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in.”

But if you do accept God’s Kingdom with childlike trust then you are in for some wonderful times ahead! I pray this morning we will be able to simply place our lives in Jesus arms and seek to be blessed by God.

Jesus was the man with the child in His eyes. He was already to receive all those who would come to Him. He values each of our lives and calls us each to follow Him. So, come in the simple faith of a child and share these gifts of bread and wine. You are cherished, you are welcomed, you are loved.

To God’s name be the glory.
Amen.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.