Weekly Sermon

Welcoming the Children

Mark 9:33-37

The Reverend Anne Benefield

Geneva Presbyterian Church, October 20, 2002 Mark 9:33-37

After Jesus told the disciples for the second time that he would suffer and die and be resurrected], they traveled to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a little child and put him among them; and taking him in his arms, he 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." Prayer: Anonymous Heavenly Father, we believe in children: little ones, big ones, in-between ones. There is faith in their eyes, love in their touch, hope in their attitude. We thrill with them at life's joys, bow with them in worship and hold them close in tragedy. We believe in children: the fragile dreams of yesterday, life's radiant reality today, and vibrant energy for tomorrow. We believe in children, for wherever we go we find yesterday's children who were nurtured in love, truth, and beauty at work trying to make this world a better place for everyone. Help us to welcome all your children. Amen. I like it when Jesus gives me something to do. I like it when he says, "You need to do this." That is pretty much what he does in our story today. He tells us to welcome children because when we welcome children, we welcome him. Unfortunately, between our time and 1st Century Israel there is a wide cultural distance that keeps us from understanding what Jesus means. A lot of sermons that are preached on this scripture talk romantically about children-how wonderful and sweet they are, but every parent knows better. We know that there are moments when our children are wonderful and sweet, but those moments are relatively rare. Most of the time our children seem bent on disappointing us. In the October issue of Presbyterians Today there is a story about a female physician and her four-year-old daughter. On the way to preschool, the doctor had left her stethoscope on the car seat, and her little girl picked it up and began playing with it. "Be still, my heart," the mother thought, "my daughter wants to follow in my footsteps!" Then the child spoke into the instrument: "Welcome to McDonald's. May I take your order?" [Source unknown, contributed by Gordon Tait, Wooster, Ohio (Presbyterians Today, October 20020, 3] We see our children differently than the people in Israel of Jesus' time. In those days, most children didn't live to adulthood. Thirty percent died in childbirth. Another 30% were dead by age six, and 60% were dead by age sixteen. Children were non-people. It wasn't that they were not loved. Within the family they were treasured, but outside the home, they were invisible. The same Aramaic word means "child" and "servant." When Jesus said that in welcoming a child, one welcomed him, it was a complete reversal of the norm. The child was the classic example of one who could do little or nothing to repay kindness in a society were repaying kindness was central to maintaining the social order. Using the child as an illustration, Jesus calls his followers to welcome people who can't help themselves and especially can't help us. Because we live in a wealthy country and we struggle to say "no" to giving too much to our children, it is hard for us to grasp that children are still some of the most vulnerable members of our society. We are blind to the fifth child. In the bulletin, you will find an insert entitled "America's Fifth Child" by Marian Wright Edelman. I hope that later today you will read it. The story describes how four out of five children in America are loved and nurtured, encouraged and prayed for, but there is a fifth child who is left behind. The conditions in which they live are horrible. When we think of the fifth child, we tend to think in stereotypes, but although many ethnic children live in poverty and neglect, the majority of fifth children are white children living in rural America. And there they will stay in poverty and neglect unless we as a country find a better way to provide food and education for them. Ric Neese, of Lincoln City, Oregon, tells a story of his youth that changed his perspective: "Fifty-two years ago our family moved from Indiana to a small farm near Ben Hill, Georgia. My 9-year-old best friend, Joe, invited me to spend the night at his sharecropper shack on the edge of Cowart Lake. The evening meal was summer fare with store-bought bread substituting for corn bread. "When the sounds of sleep filled the abode, hunger propelled my bare feet across the rough plank floor and my fingers were fumbling with a heavy wrapper when a women's voice, soft but insistent, floated through the humid air: 'Joe, put the bread back, that's all we have to eat tomorrow.' "Flush-faced, I returned to my bunk and to sleepless contemplation. [Ric Neese, Chapel by the Sea Presbyterian Church, Lincoln City, Oregon, (Presbyterians Today, June 2002), 14] In a country that throws away 23% of the food that is prepared, no child should go hungry, but they still do every day in America. This is our Stewardship season. It is a time to make hard decisions. The economy is off, the stock market is down, there is talk of war, and a sniper threatens our safety. How do we decide on our priorities? We work hard for the money we earn; don't we deserve to enjoy it? In the material on the Children's Sabbath, the Children's Defense Fund included a story about Martha's Table, which we support with our mission dollars. It is a private program that serves poor and homeless children. It survives on donations and dedicated volunteers. In addition to the 2,500 sandwiches they prepare and distribute every day, they run an after-school program that includes recreation, tutoring, and food. "Given the grimness and joylessness of childhood for so many poor children, Martha's Table tried hard to celebrate the birthdays of children attending the after-school program. As their birthdays approach, the children are asked what kind of special gift they would like. "Tony desperately wanted a bike for his twelfth birthday, he confided to the staff. He had never had one before. Tony was in luck. Several used bikes had been fixed up and donated to the center. The after-school staff promised Tony his bike. "On his birthday, however, Tony quietly approached the after-school supervisor. 'I want to change my birthday order,' he said. 'Instead of a bike, I want a bag of groceries for my mom.' Then he added softly, 'And it has to be things that don't need to be cooked, because we live in the shelter and we can't use the stove.' "With her heart breaking, the supervisor took Tony into the kitchen and packed two big bags full of food. She even found a day-old lemon meringue pie that had been donated by a local restaurant and put the 'birthday pie' on the top of one of the bags. Then she offered to drive Tony back to the shelter because the bags were too heavy for him to carry alone. "Tony picked up one bag and the supervisor picked up the other and together they headed out to her car. As they walked across the parking lot to her car, the bag the supervisor was carrying broke. Broken glass and spilled food were everywhere, and on top of the pile was the birthday pie, now ruined and inedible. "The supervisor began to cry. "Tony, however, just shrugged his shoulders. He looked at the mound of ruined food-garbage, now-and said, 'That's my life.' "Twelve-year-old boys shouldn't have to make the choice between the bicycle they have always wanted and the food they need to survive. And their lives and future should not feel like a mound of ruined groceries, of garbage." [The Children's Defense Fund, Building the Movement to Leave No Child Behind, Volume 11] When we hear such a story our hearts break, and we can feel overwhelmed, even inadequate. But God has given us all we need to do his work. We have the money we need to pledge; we have the talents, knowledge, and time to give; we lack nothing. We aren't called to do it all. We are called to do what we can. God takes what we give and weaves our gifts into the beautiful tapestry of the salvation story. Dr. Hal Brady of St. Luke's Church in Columbus, Georgia, tells a story of an elementary school teacher in the inner city. "She told Dr. Brady that many of her first-grade students are missing so many fundamental experiences that others often take for granted. "One small child named Terrence would forever be in her heart. Terrence was a child with light skin, big brown eyes, and brown hair that was seldom combed. To many, he was a 'throwaway' kid. He had basically been raised by his brother, who was a year older, and an 18-year-old sister. Terrence's mom was frequently in jail with numerous problems. Terrence was a child who, if it weren't for the breakfast and lunch program, would never eat a nutritional meal. Dinner for him was a Butterfinger candy bar and a soda. "When Terrence came to school, this teacher-friend noticed how sad he was. She knew that no one had ever loved or cherished this small, scared child. During group reading, this friend would ask Terrence to sit in her lap to help turn the pages. At first, Terrence didn't even know how to sit in her lap and lean against her. Soon afterward, Terrence's mother was arrested again, and Terrence left school and went to live with his sister. Dr. Brady's friend said it was the last time she would see Terrence…he was killed in a freak accident in the spring of this year. "In the words of Dr. Brady's friend: 'My heart was broken when I heard of Terrence's death through the news. I told my family how sad I was, how I had never taught him a single thing. He couldn't read when he left me, he couldn't write when he left me. All I taught him to do was sit in a woman's lap-and what kind of life skill is that?' "A few days after she had discussed her sadness with her family and her inability to reach Terrence, her own small son came to her and said, 'Mommy, it's a good thing you taught that little boy to sit in someone's lap because he's sitting in God's lap right now.'" [Homestyle Goodness, Acts 10:34-43, Homiletics, 1/10/99] This year as we pray about our pledges, I hope we will keep in mind that Jesus made a point of welcoming the most vulnerable, marginalized, "throwaway" people because in so doing, we welcome him. Amen.