Oh, Children

Oh, Children!

Mark 10:13-16

Here’s what a theologian from England said in his opening paragraph about this passage: “Jesus may have been fond of children – people who have none of their own often are…”[1] I read this opening sentence numerous times trying to get a true sense of what this scholar was saying and I’m still not sure I get his angle. Was he saying, “Only those who don’t have children can truly be fond of them because once you have your own, the demands of raising them will konk you over the head and the ideal is replaced by reality”? Or was he saying, “People who don’t have kids can also experience the bliss of sitting up all night, scrubbing the carpet when someone gets sick, and pacing the floor while one of your own has missed curfew…again!”?

Like most parents, having kids has changed my life! I’m tired most of the time. I’ve pretty much forgotten what having an idle moment is like. And I’m sick most of the winter because I get every bug circulating through the Orange county preschool system. But I live for moments like I had two weeks ago when I was playing ball with Eli in the yard and before I rushed off to the Nominating Committee meeting Eli said…unprompted, “Thank you Papa for playing ball with me.” I’m learning that those are the moments you live for as a parent. I was ready for six more kids right then!

When I started reading and preparing for this preaching moment, I thought this might be one of those gushy, feel-good, sermons that leaves everyone saying, “Yeah! Let’s have some more kids!” This is how this passage is often used in our churches. We use it at baptisms and on children’s Sunday. We get out our little paper cut-out Jesus and put him up on the felt board so the nursery class can hear and see that Jesus welcomes them. This passage does offer those expected opportunities to share who Jesus is, but there’s much more here.

Jesus is moving steadily toward Jerusalem. In fact, the very next chapter of Mark has people singing, “Hosanna!” and laying palm fronds on the road. That’s serious stuff. The immediate context of this passage seems a lifetime away from the events of Passion Week and the cruelty of the cross until you really look at what surrounds these little children coming to Jesus. Right before this passage, Jesus has some strong words about divorce and he doesn’t seem like the loving, faithful friend we sing about in our hymns.[2] He tells the Pharisees they have hard hearts and just don’t get it. Right after our passage today Jesus tells a rich man he must give up what he values most if he wants to be a true follower.[3] So is Mark giving us a breather by putting this passage about children right in between these hard teachings?

Before we breathe too easily, we should remember how children were viewed in the first century. It’s really a puzzle but here are some of the pieces. Palestinian society, and the larger Greco-Roman world, was patriarchal. Men had a higher value than women. When children were born, couples hoped for little boys. They could work and provide economic stability. They could continue the family name. Little girls were too often considered a liability. Unfortunately, Roman law did not prohibit the exposure of babies, especially baby girls, as a means of getting rid of children. Dead newborns in the street was even more common than it is now. Also, if harsh economic conditions struck a region, children could also be sold into slavery. This is not a picture of the carefree, playful, and idealized life we often envision for our children. A first century child’s life was often one of exploitation, abuse, and abandonment.[4]

It sounds hard to believe doesn’t it? It shouldn’t because the same thing happens today. In 2003, Newsweek reported that 35,000 children under the age of five die each day because of hunger. It’s estimated that it would take about 2.5 billion dollars to feed these hungry children. That’s a lot of money isn’t it until we put it in perspective. Do you know how much Americans spend on chewing gum each year? Yeah, 2.5 billion dollars. If we Americans simply gave to world hunger what we spend on chewing gum each year, children dying by hunger could largely be eliminated.[5]

I believe Mark places this passage about children coming to Jesus right in between the teaching about divorce and the story of the rich man because the disciples still don’t seem to be taking Jesus’ view of discipleship seriously.[6] In the disciples’ defense, you have to wonder why people were bringing them to Jesus? The text says it was so Jesus could “touch” them. Were the children simply in need of a blessing? Were they sickly and needed healing? Were they illegitimate? Were they orphaned? Whatever the case might have been, these little ones seem to be snotty-nosed annoyances that the disciples wished would go away. Obviously, the disciples didn’t get it when Jesus earlier set a child in their midst and told them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me…”[7] Now, once again Jesus is telling the disciples that they receive the kingdom of God in the same way that they received these little children. Put bluntly, they do not. By rejecting the children, the disciples show they are not ready to receive the kingdom of God. When the disciples are ready to receive the children, or the needy and undesirables in the world, then they’d be ready to receive the kingdom of God.[8]

Here’s where it gets hard for us. Most of us will put our arms around a snotty-nosed child, welcome them, we’d do anything we could for them. We’d love them. Children are not hard for this group to love. But what if God would bring you a drug addict to love? Would you put your arms around that person and love him or her in the same way you’d be compassionate for a child? What if God brings you a hooker who walks the streets? What if God brings you a single parent? A gay man or woman? A thief? A murderer? A pedophile? A gossip? You could really attach any label you want to the person that’s hard for you to love. If that person is dropped into your life, will you love him or her…or be like the disciples and ask Jesus to send them away?

When Jesus welcomes and blesses the children, he demonstrates God’s gracious treatment of the vulnerable and needy. This story offers us a gift and a task. The gift is God’s acceptance. It’s pure gift, no merit. When we accept God’s blessing as a child, we accept because we know we’re dependent and needy. Children know they need adults to make it and they’re not shy about voicing that need. Each of us must throw ourselves at the feet of God in the same way.

Some of you might consider yourselves to be the one no one loves. Well, God loves you and it’s also our job to love you. That’s the task. The Church, if we are to truly be the Church, is called to welcome those vulnerable and needy. When we do this, we are welcoming Jesus and receiving the kingdom.[9] Yeah, it’s messy work. But it’s our calling as followers of Jesus.

So where does all this make you most uncomfortable? Chances are, that’s where God wants you to focus your attention this morning. Let’s do business with God.

Amen.

[1] J. Duncan M. Derrett, “Why Jesus Blessed The Children,” Novum Testamentum, Volume 25, January 1983, p. 1.

[4] James L. Bailey, “Experiencing the Kingdom as a Little Child: A Rereading of Mark 10:13-16,” Word & World, Volume 15, Winter 1995, p. 65.

[5] “Gathering In Christ,” LectionAid, Volume 14, Number 4, September 2006-November 2006, p. 22.

[6] Douglas R.A. Hare, Westminster Bible Companion, Mark (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996), p. 122. Hare goes on to say, “In terms of social status, a child ranked not much better than a slave; see Galatians 4:1.”

[8] Larry L. Eubanks, “Mark 10:13-16,” Review & Expositor, Volume 91, Summer 1994, p. 403.

[9] James L. Bailey, “Experiencing the Kingdom as a Little Child: A Rereading of Mark 10:13-16,” Word & World, Volume 15, Winter 1995, p. 62.