Welcome Children…Welcome God
Some of you know that I live in Holliston, about 20 miles north of here. Holliston is a small town. We don’t even have a grocery store! Downtown Holliston, as we lovingly like to call it, is a 1/2 mile stretch of state highway (routes 16 and 126) intersected by side roads. There are local stores, shops, professional offices, town buildings, a town park, a bank or two, and a couple of churches in this area. There’s lots of traffic on the roads at certain times of the day. And at the end of the school day there are frequently groups of children walking on the sidewalks to the various stores. It’s a busy area!
The other afternoon I was driving toward downtown Holliston, just before 4:00, to get to my yoga class. I was a tad late and cars were backed up on the main road so I turned down some of the side streets to avoid the delay. As I crossed one road, I noticed a couple of children walking on the sidewalk to my left. One of them turned the corner and went down the same small street where I was headed. He was a little bit in front of me, still to my left, and he kept looking back at me. By this time I was driving ever so slowly, watching to see what he was going to do. He kept looking at me; I kept watching him. Finally, I stuck my head out the window (it was one of those warm days!) and, in what I hope was a gentle tone of voice, asked him if he wanted to cross the street. He said yes. So I stopped my car and waved him across in front me. He crossed and continued walking down the street, still looking back at me, to see if I was going to follow him. When he saw me turn left onto another street, he looked back at me one last time and then went skipping down the street toward home.
I got a good look at his face that last time he looked back at me. A tender feeling swept over me – he really was just a little child; vulnerable, tentative, unsure of himself as he tried to make his way safely through his environment, hoping that the adults around him would watch out for him.
I felt tears in my eyes. Seeing this child, walking through our small town, made me think of all the children – the thousands and thousands of children – who have been killed by indiscriminate bombing and military action in Gaza and the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the last 50 weeks. There is no safe environment for these children and not enough adults in the world watching out for them.
We hear from the news everyday that there are many children in our towns – in our state – in our country – in our world who do not live in safe environments. We hear of school shootings and random shootings following arguments and sexual assault and gender violence, all resulting in innocent children caught and injured and killed because of family disputes or neighborhood disputes or political disputes or international disputes.
We wonder – where are the adults around these children who are watching out for them?
Many adults in the world today (even, perhaps, some of us!) are like the disciples in today’s gospel reading – arguing with each other over who is the greatest – who has the most power; the highest status; the best ideas for how we can live together; the strongest weapons; the most influence….you get the idea.
Even in the church we are sometimes more focused on the world’s definition of greatness (status, power, might, control) – the kind of wisdom that James refers to as “earthly, unspiritual, devilish” – than we are (focused) on “the wisdom above”; the wisdom that is “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy”.
In the gospel reading today, we hear that Jesus’ disciples have been arguing amongst themselves over this very question – who is the greatest?
Perhaps Jesus is not surprised when his disciples will not tell him what they are arguing about. Who wants to admit to Jesus that you’re thinking about something that is less than pure, peaceable, or gentle; that you’re thinking about something that shows partiality or hypocrisy?
Jesus knows his disciples – including us! – well. He knows how much they (and we!) still have to learn about following him along the way that leads to abundant life in the kin_dom of God.
Jesus offers his disciples some advice; some wisdom. He tells them “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” That’s a little counter-cultural, don’t you think?
In God’s kin_dom, those who are the greatest are those who serve others; who give of themselves humbly and quietly; who offer a word of hope or encouragement or peace or healing to someone in need; who take action to relieve pain and suffering and despair wherever they find it.
Jesus illustrates his point about the need to serve others by taking a little child in his arms and telling his disciples “Whoever welcome a child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
In God’s kin_dom, God centers God’s own self with the vulnerable, the tentative, those who are unsure of themselves, the children for whom there is no safe environment and not enough adults watching out for them.
As followers of Jesus, who believe that God’s love is for children of all ages and who know that all children are created in God’s image of love, we have a responsibility…
to love all children and to seek the best for them;
to create a safe environment for all children in the world;
to watch out for the children near to us and far away from us;
to nurture children in the faith in our words and in our deeds,
so that they too might come to know the wisdom that is from above.
Lutheran and Episcopalian followers of Jesus take this responsibility of nurturing the faith of children (of any age!) so seriously that each of our Services of Holy Baptism include promises made by the assembly and the congregation on behalf of the one being baptized.
Episcopalians are asked: Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support these people in their life in Christ? The people respond – We will.
Lutherans are asked: People of God, do you promise to support name(s) and pray for them in their new life in Christ? The people respond – We do.
Together, when we welcome and serve one of God’s children (of any age!) we welcome and serve God, in the name of Jesus.
May we welcome and serve the children (of any age!) that the Holy Spirit gathers among us.
May we welcome and serve the children whom Jesus takes in his arms and holds in love in this world.
May we welcome and serve the children who reflect God’s love for us and all the world.