Our Gospel lesson this morning contains what we might call Scriptural catnip for the pastor who serves children and young people. Did you hear Jesus say to his disciples “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs?” It’s possible you missed it over the strong teaching in the first part of the reading regarding divorce. While I hate to skip over that this morning, the only way to give the topic the justice it deserves is to talk to you one-on-one. If this Scripture jumps out at you for whatever reason, I (or any of the clergy) relish the chance to talk with you personally rather than from the pulpit.
That being said, hearing Jesus’ strong negative reaction to the disciples’ shooing away the people bringing children for a blessing will always remind me of Easter 2013. I had agreed to put together a short liturgy and play some music at the behest of one of my more argumentative dorm-mates. His mother was the chaplain for the local community mental health treatment facilities and she asked us to come to do an Easter morning chapel service for any interested patients. I was so excited; I couldn’t imagine a better group of people with whom to share the day of Christ’s resurrection, a group carrying so much shame and condemnation that could only be overcome by the new life of the Risen Lord.
One afternoon before the day, we were preparing and my friend, who at that point (and maybe still is) an even bigger know-it-all than I am was going over his sermon with his mother. She gave him some notes and in her best supportive mother tone let him know that the aloof Oxford -style rhetoric and perfectly footnoted exposition of the Pascal theology of the Early Church Fathers might not be the best tack for the folks coming to be with us; especially the children. At the mere mention of having to preach to children, my friend threw a bit of a tantrum, and decided that he simply could not be bothered to preach to children as they could not possibly apprehend the finer points of the resurrection message. His mother of course was turning red with rage and seeing that her rebuttal would be far better and more entertaining than mine, I elected to watch the proceedings over a long slurp of particularly delicious coffee. Of course, she reached for her Bible, pointed to this text, and said in the most disappointed tone imaginable that it is to the children that the message would be most apparent. She slammed the book, told him to think about what he’d said, and drove home. Having lost a few arguments to my friend, I triumphantly sipped my coffee like a jerk and went about my business while he attended to his wounds.
Why was his mother so upset? I suspect it is because she knows the truth of what it means to share the Gospel with children. Put plainly, children understand the love of God in Christ on a primal level. For whatever reason, telling children that God loves them is not met with much argument. Jesus, of course, knew this and several stories from the Gospel illustrate this. In fact, in St. Matthew’s account of this teaching, he intensifies the implication of keeping children away from him by setting them astray:
In Matthew Chapter 18 we read
Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
So perhaps it is no small wonder my friend’s mom was so offended. Perhaps also, it is no small wonder why a parish such as ours takes so seriously the call of Christ to minister to children, and why their youth pastor can be very protective of their interests.
Sermon preached by the Rev. David S. Bumsted
The Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota Florida
19th Sunday after Pentecost
4 October 2015