They Are Everywhere

Mark 10: 2-16

They are everywhere! What am I talking about? I am talking about children. They are everywhere! I see them on the street as they make their way to and from school. I see them in the mall and other stores, the younger ones accompanied by their parents. I see them in the park playing when I go for my walk. I wish that I would see more of them in church, even if its just because they show up so often in scripture. They certainly appear to be on the mind of Jesus quite a lot.

Two Sundays ago, they were featured in the gospel reading from Mark 9, when Jesus rebuked the misguided, self-centred ambitions of the disciples, who were arguing among themselves about who was the greatest among them. Jesus made them to know that “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” And by way of example, he placed a child in their midst and said to them: “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9: 33-37) The message was clear: discipleship is not about the selfish pursuit of personal privilege and prestige, its about service, especially service to the least among us - as children were then considered to be.

Now here they are again - children, featured in today’s Gospel reading in what would appear to be an out of place connection with the issue to which Jesus was responding.

Some Pharisees - those pesky, relentless, self righteous and insecure religious leaders, who were always out to get Jesus, came to him with another attempt to trap him. Thy asked him about divorce in order to test him, in the hope that he would say something that they can use to discredit him. But as he always does, Jesus used the occasion of the question to address a bigger issue; the issue of the way women were treated.

In the culture of the time, marriage was less about seeking mutual fulfilment and wholeness, it was primarily a means of ensuring economic stability and social privileges, through the creation of offspring and inter-family alliances. It took place in a culture where men controlled all the levers of power. A woman was the property of her father, and then her husband. Very few had any status or identity outside of that. Read the Bible and very often women are referred to as the daughter of, or the wife of …, seldom were they seen as persons in their own right.

For the majority of women in that culture, their survival depended upon being a member of a household, and divorce placed a woman in grave social and economic peril. It’s with that in mind, that Jesus responded to the Pharisees question in a manner that implies that he is against divorce. When what in fact he is against is the use of divorce for one’s selfish benefit, sacrificing the wellbeing of a spouse to satisfy one’s desires or ambitions. Marriage is not a contract of convenience that can be terminated at will, and the hurt caused by divorce is not collateral damage.

And that’s the bigger issue here; that in our pursuit of our ambitions, we cannot and must not treat the people that we hurt as collateral damage, because no human being is property.

So, Jesus’s response is not so much about divorce, its more about how we treat people, especially the more vulnerable among us.

And that’s where the children come in, not as an out of place mention in an issue that does not concern them, but as an important point of reference.

When the mothers brought their children to Jesus, the disciples who were slow to learn, scolded them for so doing. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it."

And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

“Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” It is common and tempting to understand that to mean that we should receive the Kingdom of God the way a child would – with a simple childlike faith. In many ways that is a useful interpretation, but as Mark Hoffman points out, the context suggests a different meaning; and that meaning is that we should receive the kingdom like we would welcome a child.

As Hoffman goes on to say, In the culture of Jesus’ time when honour and shame determined people’s behaviour, people would be very eager to welcome someone of high standing whose company could increase their status. On the other hand, there was no value in hosting a banquet for a child. So, when Jesus says that to receive God’s kingdom – to be a part of God’s great work of renewal and transformation is like embracing a child, he is stating that God is not experienced in power, but in weakness and humility.

Walking with God, participating in what God offers, is not a way to become first or great, but a way to identify with and serve the least, the weak, the overlooked, the neglected.

For a selfish and self-centered person, it makes no sense to waste time looking out for children who have little to offer, or remaining in a relationship with someone for whom they no longer have use. Such actions are not good and are not of God.

Significantly, I am recording this service on the day Canada observes its first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. This day honours the lost children of residential schools, their families, and communities. It’s a stark reminder of the misery and pain that we cause when we don’t value the lives of others.

Also of significance is that this service is prepared for World communion day. Communion is more that a religious ritual, it’s a coming together of people, a celebration of our connectedness with one another and with God, a reaffirmation of our mutual participation in life for the good of all. It’s a reminder of and an act of thanksgiving for the self-giving love of Jesus, and a call to for us to do likewise.

From the very beginning, God has embraced us and remained faithful to us, whatever our stage and place in life; whatever our circumstances, and when we learn to treat others that way, we will begin to experience life as God intends it to be.