Like a Child

What did Jesus mean when he told his disciples that they would have to become like children to live in God's kingdom? It's a puzzling passage of scripture, but one that we might want to ponder as we begin the season of Lent.

We all started our lives as children. And in Jesus’ opinion, we should have stayed that way! (Mark 10:13-16) Now, Jesus never meant that we shouldn’t get older. We don’t have any choice about that, anyway. Not one of us remains a child forever like Peter Pan. But Jesus did mean that in some ways, children are more ready to receive the Kingdom of God than we older folks are. We’re too wise, too worldly, too sophisticated. In fact, those are the very behaviors that keep us on the outside. We adults often behave like visitors to Kings’ Island who spend the day just walking around the park. Children would never do that! When children visit an amusement park, they ride the rides, enjoy the shows, and indulge in corn dogs and ice cream! Why do we rejoice that we’re saved, accept God’s offer of citizenship in his kingdom, and then just stand on the outside and look in? There are blessings in there that God wants to give to us!

Here’s what I mean. In the Kingdom of God, we’re invited to be honest – honest with ourselves, honest with the people around us, and honest with God. But, let’s face it, being honest is threatening; so we try to fool people into believing that we’re better than we really are. We keep our problems to ourselves. We surround ourselves with “stuff” that makes us look good. We act as though we don’t need anybody’s help, and that we can get through life all by ourselves. But let’s face it, we mess things up on a regular basis; and because we do, all of us have secrets that we wouldn’t reveal for all the tea in China. But children are a lot more honest than adults are. With a child, what you see is what you get. Author Kathleen Norris tells of a little boy who was invited to write a poem. He titled his poem “The Monster Who Was Sorry.” “He began,” says Norris, “by admitting that he hates it when his father yells at him: his response in the poem is to throw his sister down the stairs, and then to wreck his room, and finally to wreck the whole town. The poem concludes, ‘Then I sit in my messy house and say to myself, “I shouldn’t have done all that.”’” (From Amazing Grace, 1998) Now that’s honesty. This little boy admitted the depth of his anger in a way that most adults would never think of doing; and because he did, he was able to move through his anger to repentance. In the Kingdom of God, we’re invited to be honest, not so that we can be judged and found wanting, but so that we can face our problems and move through them to a better place! “…the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

Children aren’t invested in their own power, either. That’s because they don’t have any power! Children are little in a world made for big people, and they often feel lost and alone. They are laughed at for their foolishness, and criticized when they lack experience. They have no natural defenses; and they know all too well that they are dependent on others for everything that they need. But adults delude themselves into thinking that they are in control of their own lives. That’s why so many people drift away from the church when they grow up. They don’t think that they need God! After all, they went to college, and they have a good job, a Roth IRA, and investments in the stock market. They are ready for anything – or so they think! But when the doctor sits down across a big mahogany desk and says gravely, “I’m sorry. It’s cancer,” suddenly the job and the IRA and the stock investments don’t mean very much. We’re not in control of our own lives. We have to deal with all kinds of problems that we didn’t want and don’t deserve! But in the Kingdom of God, we can always rely on God to meet our needs. We may lose our jobs, and the stock market might tank; but God will walk beside us forever, giving us the strength to face whatever life throws at us. Trusting God like a child means knowing that whatever happens, God will be there for us. “…the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

But maybe the most important thing about children is that they are open to new things! They have potential – loads of it – even though they often don’t realize it until years later. Children can be taught, because they don’t yet think that they know it all. In fact, adults tell them all the time that they really don’t know much of anything! And so, children absorb knowledge like a sponge. Adults, on the other hand, are pretty sure that they already know what makes the world go around. The trouble is that the world they know about isn’t the Kingdom of God. It’s our world, with its greed and its hate and its mixed-up priorities. If we adults want to fit into the Kingdom of God, we have to learn some new things. We have to learn that the most expensive things are sometimes the least important. We can drive a BMW, own a 30-room house, and have 7 figures in our bank account; but without love, none of it counts for a hill of beans. We have to learn that behind our skin color, religion, nationality, and ethnic background, we’re all the same. Children already know that. Put a random bunch of children in a room, and they’ll make friends with one another: black, white, Christian, Muslim, British, Russian, Israeli, or Palestinian. It’s the adults who eye each other with suspicion just because “those people” are different. And we need to learn that we have to die before we can really live. Yeah, that’s a hard one for both children and adults. But it’s the foundation of Jesus’ teaching; and if we aren’t open to at least consider it, we’ll never make it in the Kingdom of God. “Anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. …the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that we have to earn our way into God’s Kingdom by behaving like a child. We don’t need any Golden Ticket to get in. God’s Kingdom isn’t like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory that only admits a few select people. On the contrary, we’re all invited to come into the Kingdom with no strings attached! Jesus has opened the door to everyone, everywhere, every time! But the truth is that most of us don’t want to come in. We would rather hang on to our greed, our prejudices, and our misplaced priorities; and none of those things have any place in God’s Kingdom. Only those with the heart of a child will run right in shouting, “Yay! What a neat place to be! And I get to stay here forever!”

During this season of Lent, maybe we could practice being like children again. Maybe we could try being honest with ourselves. Our lives aren’t what we want them to be. But with God’s help, that can change. Maybe we could face up to the fact that our lives are pretty much out of our control. But they aren’t out of God’s control. Maybe we could try one more time to turn our lives over to God. And maybe we could even admit that all the wisdom of the world has only led to war, famine, and suffering; and we could try some of Jesus’ wisdom, instead. “…the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” That’s us, folks. So let’s start living like children – like God’s children.

Here, There, and Everywhere

Where does Jesus have authority? Only in the church? Or maybe in some other places, too? This sermon considers where Jesus can "make things happen." You might be surprised where those places are.

Once upon a time, there were three… Three what? Well, I guess it depends on the story that I’m telling. It could be three little pigs. You remember them. They built houses in an attempt to escape from the Big Bad Wolf. Or it could be three bears – the ones who owned the “just right” bed that Goldilocks slept in. Or it could be the Three Billy Goats Gruff. If I remember right, they had an encounter with a troll under a bridge. It could even be three clergymen! We all know at least one joke about a minister, a priest, and a rabbi. Lots of stories involve three characters. This is especially true of folk stories, those tales that have been told over and over again around campfires and kitchen tables. Maybe the number three is easy to remember. But whatever the reason, sets of three show up in lots of stories: three little pigs, three chances to win the hand of a princess, three wishes granted by a genie.

The first healing story about Jesus in Mark’s gospel is a story like that. It has three parts to it; and last week; we heard the first part (Mark 1:21-28). You may remember it. While Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, he cast out a demon from a possessed man. With just a few words, he freed that man from bondage and transformed his life. That healing is the first of three that Mark tells us about in the first chapter of his gospel. And this week, you heard about the other two. One involved Simon Peter’s mother who was ill with a fever. We saw Jesus go to her bedside, take her hand, and help her out of bed. We saw the fever leave her immediately so that she was able to resume her duties as hostess (Mark 1:29-31). In the second, Jesus healed a man with leprosy (Mark 1:40-45). When the man begged Jesus for help, Jesus healed him – immediately. Because he did, Jesus got such a reputation that he couldn’t even go into town! So many people followed him the he had to stay in what Mark calls “lonely places.”

Three different people… three different healings… three different places. What is Mark trying to tell us in this story that has so many sets of three? Well, he might be telling us that women as well as men deserve to be healed. The second person who needs healing in this set of three is a woman, Simon Peter’s mother-in-law. Jesus heals her as quickly as he heals the two men. That was a bit radical in Jesus’ time. Men held all the power, while women were… expendable. In that society, women were like taxicabs. If you missed one, another one would always come along. But Jesus gave Simon Peter’s mother-in-law the same respect that he gave the two men. Mark might very well be telling us that all people, men and women, are valuable in Jesus’ eyes. Or Mark might be showing us that Jesus can take care of all kinds of problems that plague us. In the first story, he casts out a demon. In the second, he cures a fever. And in the third, he cleanses a leper. Those are very different kinds of activities: exorcism, healing, and cleansing. There seems to be nothing that Jesus cannot do – and that may be just the point that Mark is trying to make.

But there is another aspect to these stories that I find interesting. Did you notice where Jesus’ healings took place? The first was in a synagogue; the second was in a home; and the third was outside, in a “lonely place.” Here, there, and everywhere – that’s where Jesus has authority. His power to change us isn’t confined to the interior of our sanctuary. Jesus can transform lives any time and any place! But that’s no news. Even the children know that wherever we go, Jesus is there. We all know that Jesus can do anything that he wants to! Sure, we all know that – but do we believe it?

If we’re honest with ourselves, it’s hard to see Jesus’ work in the world. That work isn’t always obvious. Sometimes it’s even hard to believe that Jesus is working here in the church; and the church is where we expect Jesus to have the most authority. After all, he is the reason for the church’s existence! Every Sunday we celebrate the power that raised him from the tomb on Easter morning, and raised us to new life right along with him. But people in the church behave the very same way that people outside the church do; and that can be very disillusioning. Mary stops speaking to Martha because Martha brought the wrong dish to the potluck dinner. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are irritated because someone had the nerve to sit in “their” pew one Sunday morning. Peter has his knickers in a twist because the choir hasn’t sung his favorite song for six months! Now, I know that no one in our congregation would ever behave like that. But there are churches where this kind of thing happens all the time. So, where is Jesus? Can’t he do something to change things? Well, he can… and he frequently does. When a tragedy strikes Mary’s family and Martha is the first one to phone her with an offer of help, the two women not only resume their friendship, but their love for one another is stronger than ever. That’s the spirit of Jesus working – even in the church.

And how about our homes? Does Jesus have any authority there? Of course, he does! After all, Jesus specializes in repairing relationships. He not only restores bodies and transforms souls; he heals hearts, as well. And let’s face it, home is where we are the most often wounded. Ask any therapist. My guess is that most people need a therapist not because of the behavior of their boss at work, but because of the behavior of someone at home – a husband, a wife, a child, or a parent. Our close relationships have the most potential to hurt us because they have the most potential to bring us joy! And Jesus certainly knows what a good relationship is like. Jesus is in an eternal relationship of mutual love with the Father and with the Spirit – and Jesus wants us to have relationships like that, too! As we are being individually transformed into his image, Jesus offers to transform our relationships into the image of the love that Father, Son, and Spirit have for each other. Jesus has told us how to help him make that happen; but it takes some hard work on our part. If I remember correctly, Jesus said a few things about relationships. “Love others as you love yourself,” he tells us. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” And we all know what St. Paul said: “Love is patient and kind; it is not arrogant or rude; it protects, trusts, and hopes.” If Jesus has the authority to transform relationships outside our homes, he certainly has the authority to transform relationships inside our homes! He’s ready to help us if we’re ready to let him.

Jesus has authority even in the “lonely places” of our lives. We’re usually comfortable in church… and we’re usually comfortable in our homes… but all of us have lonely places in our lives where we’re not comfortable at all. We don’t talk much about those places. But we all have them. Sometimes on those nights when we just can’t sleep, and we lie miserably awake in bed, those lonely places bubble up in our minds; and it’s all we can do to shut out the images. Sometimes we can’t shut them out; they cling to us like SuperGlue. There are people who would give everything they own to get rid of their lonely places. I have them myself; and I won’t even guess what yours might be.

The theologian and author Frederick Buechner wrote about one of his own lonely places as he remembered the suicide of his father. “We didn’t talk about my father with each other; and we didn’t talk about him outside the family either, partly because suicide was looked on as something a little shabby and shameful in those days. My father had tried to keep it a secret himself by leaving a note to my mother in a place where only she would be likely to find it, and by saying … that there was something wrong with the Chevy’s exhaust system which he was going to see if he could fix. His suicide was a secret we tried to keep as best we could; and after a while, my father himself became such a secret.” (Telling Secrets) Dealing with the suicide of a loved one is a very, very lonely place.

But Jesus has authority even in those lonely places. We may be afraid to face the shadows and the wild animals and the demons that live there, but Jesus isn’t. If you ask him, Jesus will come and stay with you in your lonely place. Like a mother whose child is frightened by the boogie man under the bed, he will hold your hand, and shine a light into the darkness, and reassure you that nothing can hurt you while he is there. You might even find out that the lonely place isn’t nearly so lonely when Jesus is there with you. In the same book in which he confesses his father’s suicide (Telling Secrets), Fred Buechner ponders how members of Alcoholics Anonymous cope with living in their own lonely places. He writes that they are a varied bunch: men and women, young and old, educated and illiterate, Christian and Jew and atheist. But they have one thing in common. “They all believe that they cannot live fully human lives without each other and without what they call their Higher Power. They avoid using the word God because some of them do not believe in God. What they all do believe in, or are searching for, is a power higher than their own which will make them well. Through prayer and meditation, through seeking help from each other and from helpful books, they try to draw near any way they can to God or to whatever they call what they have instead of God.” These folks may not call their alcoholism a lonely place; and many of them don’t believe in God. But when their lives are transformed by their Higher Power – and I’ve seen it happen – I’m convinced that it’s Jesus at work. He is always ready to go into our lonely places with us and help us to face whatever terrors they hold.

It is indeed good news that Jesus can transform lives wherever he finds them – in church, at home, or in our frightening lonely places. He healed a demon-possessed man in the synagogue; he healed Peter’s mother-in-law in her home; and he healed a leper in a lonely place. Jesus has authority here, there, and everywhere!

So, now we know the end of the story that I started at the beginning of my sermon. Once upon a time there were three… places where Jesus had authority. And he still has authority in all of them today! Thanks be to God!