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The Rev. Frank
Logue
God's Child One measure I use of how far progress in human knowledge has come is to look at the work being done by those earning doctorate degrees. It is funny to me how narrow a field of vision is offered in doctoral dissertations. These are the major papers that establish someone as enough of an authority in their field to be called a doctor. Here are four titles from actual recent dissertations selected randomly that show what I mean: A Psychology student wrote: “Anxiety Sensitivity and Perceived Control Over Anxiety-Related Events: Evaluating the Singular and Interactive Effects in the Prediction of Anxious and Fearful Responding to Bodily Sensations.” An Entomology student wrote, “Synergism between Ground and Foliar-foraging Predators of Aphids in Alfalfa.” A student of Linguistics wrote: “Distributed Morphological Mechanisms of Labovian Variation in Morphosyntax.” A medical student specializing in pathology wrote: “Immunohistochemical and Morphometric distinction between Mesothelial and Adenocarcinoma cells in clinically suspected malignant effusions.” Notice how narrowly define the work is. Compared to say Isaac Newton who sat under an apple tree, discovered gravity and went on to mathematically define principles of motion, these papers do little to push back the bounds of human knowledge. Yet the reason we get papers like these is that we have figured out the big stuff. We are working in ever narrower categories, so that you can make a career studying, writing and teaching about the insects of a given stand of trees in Brazil. Yet with all the advances in knowledge, there is so much that remains unknown. In fact, we humans and our ability, as a group, to become so smart and remain so stupid that it defies belief. We simultaneously raise and lower the bar of expectations of what we can achieve. After all, we have created a vast interconnected network of computers which speed communication in a way that flattens the earth. Any computer on the Internet has access to more good, solid information than was available in the finest libraries through most of human history. Yet while the Internet may be the largest and most impressive library ever assembled, the pornography section is larger than in any library ever built. This is how we both raise and lower the bar of expectation at once. Jesus encountered some very smart people. These were the professionals who were pushing the bounds of religious knowledge in his own day. They studied the Law of Moses and were working on refining our understanding of God’s laws. These scribes worked on case law, examples from real life. They wanted to know what was permissible and what was not. They were always looking to refine their knowledge and to test others on what they thought was right. Jesus has these conversations with other religious leaders from time to time as they seek to confront him on the issues of his day. Jesus’ disciples clearly saw this as important work as while they sometimes try to ignore people who want healing, the disciples never seem to push away the Scribes, Pharisees and other religious leaders who came to test Jesus with questions. But in our Gospel reading for today, they do try to push away children. Mark writes, “People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them.” To the disciples, these children are a distraction from the real work of making the Kingdom of God a reality in the here and now. After all, they had bigger fish to fry, more important issues to deal with. But Mark tells us that Jesus got indignant over the disciples shooing the kids away. Jesus told 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.” Notice the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Belongs. Present tense. The children are not the future of the Kingdom of God or the church. Children are a vital part of the Kingdom already. Jesus goes on to say, “Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” Jesus is not saying that we must come into the Kingdom as a child, meaning during the time in which we are children. He says we must receive the Kingdom as a child, meaning in the same way that a child receives it. How exactly do children receive the Kingdom of God? Well, naturally, openly, easily. As infants we learn about trust and love. Sadly, some children do not learn this, but most do. A baby is a dependent being. If others do not feed and care for the baby, any given infant does not have long to live. And so, children readily learn trust and love as naturally as they learn anything. In fact, everything Jesus was trying to teach about loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself was already so present in the children. Yet the disciples were chasing the kids away. No wonder Jesus got indignant. How dare you think the children are less a part of what God is doing in the world than you! Jesus wanted the disciples to learn from the children. In began this sermon by talking about dissertation titles to show how much head knowledge we humans have. We, as a group, know a lot of stuff. But this is head knowledge. Head knowledge is useful and important. But so is heart knowledge. The move from here (point to head) to here (point to heart) is a vital one. Knowing something with your head is not the same as knowing it with your heart. I think this too is where Jesus and the children shows us something important. Children know so much more with their hearts than with the heads. They are putting together lots of knowledge everyday, growing their vocabulary, learning shapes and colors, and names of people and animals and objects. But even as they rapidly amass more and more information in their brains, children operate from the heart. And a child can so readily love with their whole heart. What will melt a Mom or dad or grandparent faster than an I love you from their child? Yes, this comes with a certain batting of the eyes and a bit of clever manipulation in order to get a new toy, or permission to play longer, or whatever. But even that is from the heart. This sort of corrective matters as we adults can get so out of whack at times that we miss what matters most. There is a story heard that makes this point. A wealthy banker was traveling late one night on a dangerous mountain road when he lost control of his sports car. The car spins out of control and heads for the edge of a great cliff. At the last moment the man is able to leap from the car, but in doing so his arm is caught and torn from his body. A trucker who witnessed the entire event, hurried to the man’s aid. When he arrived he found the man standing in a state of obvious confusion looking over the cliff at his burning auto, mumbling, “My Mercedes, my Mercedes.” The trucker says, “Forget about your car, we should look for your arm, perhaps the doctors can sew it back on.” The man coming out of the initial shock notices that has arm was ripped loose from his body. Then he shouts, “My Rolex, My Rolex!” Think you would never make that mistake? Without reflection, any of us can get our priorities that out of line. After all, the bigger house and the nicer car don’t really bring the happiness that a loving family does. So why do some pursue more and more work in order to get the bigger pay check so they can afford the house and the car, rather than appreciating what they already have more. Children are teaching us at their best when they love the box more than the expensive toy. This wisdom was already present within Judaism. The Passover Seder, is the central act of remembrance for the Jewish people. It is the annual ritual meal which not only recalls the Exodus from Egypt but calls on those at the meal to make the story their own. And the Seder is for whole families. Children are to be present and children have a special role in the service. The children are to ask why? No Seder is complete without a child to ask the now ritualized Four Question about why the Passover night is different from all other nights. And one should make sure to have children there, both to ask the questions and to begin to learn the story from early childhood. But if there are no children there, then the youngest person present must ask the childlike questions. I think this has bearing on what Jesus is teaching. We need children to remind us of simple and complete trust and love. We need children to remind us to be open and questioning and seeking. We need children to keep us childlike. But all of this is so that we remember that our whole lives long, we remain God’s child. This is the only way to receive the Kingdom of God, to receive it as a child. God’s own child. You are God’s child. And you may have let a lot of head knowledge get in the way of knowing that great truth, but the truth remains. Your Father God wants you to know that you can trust and love Him just as an infant trusts and loves his or her parents. No matter how far we humans push back human knowledge, no head knowledge will ever replace that most important heart knowledge that God loves you and wants what is best for you. Sometimes, like the child who wants candy and gets green beans, that means God will give us what we need rather than what we want. But even when we don’t get what we want, God is caring for us. Children teach us this. It is part of why children are not a distraction. Because a crying baby in a worship service is as much a part of the worship of that church as anyone else. Because everyone in that service is equally loved by God. That applies to the baby and it even applies to you. Amen.
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