I actually preached this one this time!!! 🙂 (for the most part)
Today at the center of our scripture we find an unlikely group that makes an appearance in a way that greatly changes the way we view what it means to have God with us in the person of Jesus. Many time and in many places Jesus is confronted with people who are in need of his message. They are people that come from all walks of life and backgrounds that would place them on the fringes of society. But today we encounter yet another group that is discounted, discourages, and disenfranchised when it comes to hearing the Good News.
Yet on this father’s day weekend we are told of Jesus granting access to a group who would have otherwise have been swept to the back of the crowd, or back to their mother’s. It was so common for the children to be cast off as a distraction with nothing to offer that even the disciples were trying to remind them of their place as they kept them from Jesus. Unlike the our familiar Christian traditions of religion being a family affair, the first century Jew would have seen it as a time to participate in faith as men or women but not as a family.
It is a wonderful thing to be shown the ways in which Jesus yet again redefines and breaks down the social mores with something that would seem so small to us today. As Jesus welcomes the children he is modeling for all of us the joy and the blessing it is of being present with God and being seen by God.
This is my first really official father’s day. I remember last year when people were congratulating on my up and coming father status. But this year I am a full fledged member of the Dad club and it is a wonderful thing. As my daughter was falling asleep in my arms last night I was thinking about the wonderful ways she has blessed my life, and the ways that my presence is important to her. As of late, when I come home from work and poke my head around the corner she gives this great big shrill squeal that at some point is in a frequency only animals can her. I know this because when she does it our dog runs out of the room. She is really and truly happy that I am there with her. I could be holding her, laying on the floor with her, hiking, napping, vacuuming whatever and she is content just being with me.
As I reflect on the blessing of my daughter my thoughts quickly go to the things that my dad and I use to do together. Watching movies, taking pictures, kayaking, and biking memories all come into my mind. Then one memory of a bike race came into view as I thought about the importance of being seen.
We use to follow the road biking races that use to come through this area every year. It was really great fun to see some of the top riders in the world right in our back yard. I would even miss school sometimes to see the races. One time in Martinsburg we went to a race and it was a dreadful day. It was pouring down rain and all of the riders were staying dry in their vans before the race. As my family made our way through the different teams tents we spotted this young rider who was suppose to be an up and coming big shot. Even though he hadn’t finished the tour de France ever before people had high hopes for him. Team Motorola has a couple of free things out and one was a trading card of this guy. Quickly I snatched one up and looked at the name on the card (as not to forget who I was talking to) and said “Mr. Armstrong could you sign this card.” To my dismay he said sure come in the van with the rest of us out of the rain. And so there I sat with Lance Armstrong and the other members of his team talking about…me?!?! Before this big race. It was one of the coolest experiences of being seen I had ever had.
I can only imagine that this is kind like what those children were feeling when they were invited to be at Jesus’ side. I think that this is a point that we too often forget. So many times we read this as a story about Jesus and a group of kids. When we read the text perhaps a sermon of the importance of young people within the church is in order, but is goes beyond just young people. It goes beyond those who are overlooked and it cuts to the core of the character of God and shows the world the compassion and love that is offered to them.
So many times we read right over the social norms that Jesus no thought to, the opinions of the onlookers, the preconceived notions that this may not be the most messianic behavior. Last week Susan spoke of the way that God is nothing we expected, but exactly what we need. Well here we go again.
Who would have thought that the God of the universe would be found sitting, talking and welcoming some of the little ones of creation? Have you ever thought about the beauty and impact of having a loving God that is this accessible? About having an advocate, someone who is always there on your side and ready to listen any time you call. Have you ever thought about what it means that Jesus would call you to be in relationship, and available where ever you are whatever you have done no matter what. What a powerful notion. What a blessing it is to be seen.
Our text today varies a little from that found in the gospel of Mark that says that Jesus touched them. The Matthew text goes beyond just the ambiguous “touch” and says that he “lay hands on them.” We could read that as meaning that Jesus blessed them. We had a reading this morning about other children and young people who experienced Jesus and were blessed because of the accessibility of their savior. Being seen in these ways, I can only think about the hope and joy that those children must have had when they went from that place. In reading this nuance of the text I am reminded of a story.
A school system in a large city had a program to help children keep up with their school work during stays in the city’s hospitals. One day a teacher who was assigned to the program received a routine call asking her to visit a particular child. She took the child’s name and room number and talked briefly with the child’s regular class teacher. “We’re studying nouns and adverbs in his class now,” the regular teacher said, “and I’d be grateful if you could help him understand them so he doesn’t fall too far behind.”
The hospital program teacher went to see the boy that afternoon. No one had mentioned to her that the boy had been badly burned and was in great pain. Upset at the sight of the boy, she stammered as she told him, “I’ve been sent by your school to help you with nouns and adverbs.” When she left she felt she hadn’t accomplished much.
But the next day, a nurse asked her, “What did you do to that boy?” The teacher felt she must have done something wrong and began to apologize. “No, no,” said the nurse. “You don’t know what I mean. We’ve been worried about that little boy, but ever since yesterday, his whole attitude has changed. He’s fighting back, responding to treatment. It’s as though he’s decided to live.”
Two weeks later the boy explained that he had completely given up hope until the teacher arrived. The teacher saw him, despite his wounds. And everything changed the day she came. He expressed it this way: “They wouldn’t send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they?”
This is the kind of hope that comes with being seen. There is hope that comes when we see those who are in pain, those who are suffering. We give them a glimpse of Christ, as we look into their hearts. Just as the teacher gave hope to this boy, bringing the hope of life, so we can share the love of Christ with those who are suffering, bring the hope of new life through Christ Jesus.
We are called to share life with those who have given up on living, just as Christ gives us life. We are called to love the unloveable, just as Christ loves us. We are called to touch the untouchable, just as Christ touches us. We are called to see the unseen, just as Christ sees us. Seeing others my be sitting down for coffee with a friend, taking time to swing with your child or giving shoes to children who have none. All of these things tell others that they are special and of value. They are important and we are there for them.
The kingdom belongs to such as these. We are reminded in the closing verse of our passage today that we are called to come to Jesus. We are called to see as he sees. We are dared to go out on a limb, throw caution to the wind and welcome others with reckless abandon. We are given the opportunity to rekindle the flame of hope in the hearts of people we encounter like the teacher in our story, or sit and get to know someone else like I was able to do on the morning of the bike race with one of the best athletes in the world. We are called to be like the children who see Jesus for who he is. Not the grumpy man in the back listening to what this guy has to say. Or the religious ruler staying a safe distance, but ready to strike at one false step of the Son of God. We are called to remember that God is with us and God will never keep us away.
My brothers and sisters on this father’s day weekend I bid you peace.
