Our Children Are Watching Us: Sermon on Mark 9:30-37

This is my second sermon preached at Zion Lutheran of Amor on my internship.

Wisdom 1:16-2:1, 12-22
James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a
Mark: 9:30-37

Grace and Peace to you from God the Creator, and from the Son of Humanity, Jesus the Christ, Amen

“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 [them] among them; and taking [them] 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.” (Mark 9:35-7 NRSV)

This week we have a Gospel text that is similar to the last one I preached on – Jesus is hiding from the people again (never seeming to get that vacation ‘Up Nort’). The disciples meet him in a random house and Jesus says more cryptic things. Asking why they’re arguing. Asking why they think someone is better than the other. And we have a child again. Uffda.

Well, Jesus takes this moment of hiding to teach his disciples about equality, and finds a random child that just happens to be in the random house they find themselves in to use as a teaching moment. Our preschoolers are getting their bibles from Zion this morning. Preschoolers are sponges. Sam is a sponge. Sam picks up on things that Tiffany and I don’t understand how he figures out, or remembers, or hears… Not only can they learn from us, we learn from them.

Children are innocent, blank pages on which we write upon. They learn from us, TV, other kids; the world around them. They soak up so much. Life for us, and for them, is what we make of it. We can only guide, goad, and prod so much. Children have to learn on their own. We can’t open their head and deposit information, but through education and patience, they learn. Even at a young age, children are difficult to redirect at times. Once they hear ‘bad words’ they know them. And then they want to say them. Sam tells us that he wants to be 100 so he can be old enough to say bad words. Then we tell him he can certainly wait until he’s 100 to say bad words. Children are innocent in most things, but as they get older, the innocence fades away, and the realities of this world start to wear on them.

“for if the righteous man is God’s child, he will help him, and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries.” (Wisdom 2:18 NRSV)

Our first lesson may be strange to you. It comes from the Wisdom literature, which is found in the set of books we generally don’t have in our bibles. The set of books is called the Apocrypha or the deuterocanonical books. Catholics have them, but Martin Luther found these set of books unnecessary in the grand theme of the bible, so he left them out when he translated the books of the bible into the people’s tongue. These deuterocanonical texts don’t always appear in the lectionary (what we use to give us our texts every week), but when they do, I like to use them because it is so rare to see them. However, I might have used a bit more caution and actually read what I was asking to be put in the bulletin. This text is a bit… different. (to use a Minnesotan phrase)…

Children are considered righteous, blameless, until a certain point… When that point is – is different in different situations. We Lutherans baptize infants and occasionally adults. Other Christians baptize older children or adults – when they reach an ‘age of reason’, which is usually about 15 or 16 or later... Between the ages of 12 and 17 is when rites of passage happen for most people in the world. Jews have Bat and Bar Mitzvahs; Latina Christians have Quinceañeras as a coming of age rite. Some tribes of Native Americans have Sun Dances as a rite of passage for their young men. For most Americans, we give 15 and 16 year olds driver’s licenses when they pass a couple tests. Catholics and Mainline Protestants confirm their teenagers in their faith. Most Americans graduate high school around the age of 18. These are rites of passage in our world where we determine that children have passed the age of innocence into the world of young adulthood…

So, when a young man builds a clock, brings it to school and gets arrested for his brilliance, the country reels and gives a double-take. When a boy is shot because he is wearing a hooded sweatshirt. When a boy is shot because his toy gun looks real. When a boy is shot because he’s in the wrong part of town… And then we start to see the underpinnings of the sick daughters I talked about last time. It’s not because of these simple reasons at all. Children make inventions all the time and show them off in class. Children wear hooded sweatshirts all the time. Children have toy guns, walk in different parts of town. This isn’t what makes our daughters sick. Racism. Classism. What happened to the innocent children? Is it because they look different? Sound different? Speak a different language?

What children are we welcoming in Christ’s name? What children are we turning away?
Christ told his disciples that, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:37 NRSV)

Jesus is using a child as a teaching moment. His disciples were just arguing about which one of them was better than the other. Jesus uses the innocence of a child; the humility of a child; the unlikeliness of a child; the unworthiness of a child – to make a point.  “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35 NRSV)

Children were the last of all, on par with slaves in those days. Zion’s bible study group has been going through Paul’s letter to the Philippians for the last couple weeks. Two weeks ago, we went through what is commonly known as the Christ Hymn. One of the earliest known hymns written about Christ. In the Christ Hymn, Paul writes “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.” (Philippians 2:5-7a NRSV)

Children were unlikely to survive through adulthood. Jesus therefore holds children in high regard, using them as teaching moments a few times throughout the Gospels. According to Paul, Jesus humbled himself to the point of a slave. Children were regarded as having about the same worth as a slave. Children were the lowest common denominator next to slaves. Who are the lowest common denominators in our world? In our state? In our community? What children are we welcoming in Christ’s name? What children are we leaving behind because of one reason or another?

Christ, who embraced a child for a teaching moment; hung out with tax collectors; healed the untouchable; spared the life of a prostitute… Christ frequently got in the face of the ruling class and showed the people what Grace, Love, and Mercy truly look like. Christ, who told his disciples for the third time in this text that he was going to die… would soon walk into Jerusalem and face his fate. Jesus, who sat amongst his friends who were fishermen, tax collectors, and the unpopular and had dinner with them. Even the man who was about to turn him over to the authorities was welcome at the Last Supper. Jesus knew who he was hanging out with. It wasn’t the best of the best, but the lowest of the low. Jesus would soon face trial in front of all the people, and die on a cross, just like everyone else. Dying on a cross was commonplace, and Jesus died among criminals. Surrounded by his humble friends, family, and the lowest common denominator of criminals, Jesus died for us all. Jesus died to save us all from ourselves. True Grace, Love and Mercy, given to all, was bestowed upon the world that day.

For we live in a broken world, as part of a broken humanity. The children of this world are in need of our attention. We cannot let the evils of this world be written on their blank slate because of our brokenness; our unwillingness to do anything about this broken world. When the image of a little Syrian boy washed up on the beach makes the world take another double take… We have to remember that our seemingly adult problems affect children too. Our sin; our brokenness; our realities of this world… How many children does Jesus have to put in our face before we cry out in anguish?

God calls each and every one of us to look upon the face of the lowest of the low, and embrace them. Welcome them in Christ’s name; in God’s name. For we are all unique. We are all made in the image of God, for the glory of God. Each and every one of us. No matter the scars we have or the wounds we carry. We live in a broken world, but broken things can be fixed, all with the right amount of Grace, Love and Mercy (and a little duct tape) that we receive and then respond to in kind.

Last time I closed with Bob Dylan. This week, I’ll close you out with words of my favorite band, Pink Floyd:

No more turning away
From the weak and the weary
No more turning away from the coldness inside
Just a world that we all must share
It's not enough just to stand and stare
Is it only a dream that there'll be
No more turning away?

Our daughters are sick. Our children are watching us. Don’t turn away from them. Embrace them and welcome them in the name of Jesus; in the name of God. For we are all children of God, born in the image of God, and formed to be people of God.

Amen.

Our Daughters Are Sick: Sermon on Mark 7:24-37

This is my first sermon preached on my internship at Zion Lutheran Church of Amor. I had my Service of Beginning on Sunday, and family there to watch and support. With a difficult text, it was fun to figure out how to preach it in a new setting, but figure it out, I did... methinks.

Mark 7:24-37

Grace and Peace to you from God our Creator, and from the Healer of our every ill, Jesus the Christ, Amen

Jesus, after having a long hard journey to the land of the Gentiles, needed rest. He needed rest and proceeded to hide away from the crowds that followed him. He was a popular guy, this Jesus. Healing people here, feeding people there, teaching everywhere… he had quite the following. But after a while, even the Son of God needs some rest. He seemingly never gets it. No summer vacations for this guy. No lake cabin ‘up nort’ to come up to. Even when he goes home he doesn’t really rest. So, needing some time away, he travels to the land of the Gentiles to escape for a while. Slinking away, he gets to a house and hides. Apparently he wasn’t very good at ‘Hide and Seek’, because a woman with a sick kid found him rather quickly. Not merely a woman, but a Greek woman, from Syria. The other. A woman from a different land with a sick kid was asking for healing. Jesus didn’t know who this woman was; and he refused to heal her. He outright denies her, calls her a nasty name, and tells her that God’s healing is only for the right people – and she wasn’t it.  

            She tells him that even the wrong people get the leftovers. Even the ‘other’ gets the garbage. When you were a kid, and didn’t eat all of your food, how many times were you told as you were tossing your uneaten food in the garbage, “Hey, there are starving kids in Africa…” I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but – Hey, there are starving kids in your own backyard.

            So Jesus agrees that she’s right about this, and heals her daughter, just because this woman was strong enough to stand up to the inherent power difference. She knew she wasn’t Jewish. She knew Jesus could heal her daughter, and told him off. Her daughter was healed because she told Jesus off. Her daughter was healed… because she had the knowledge that the leftovers wasn’t enough. She stood up to an old, tired tradition… And advocated for her daughter.

            Getting work done can be very messy and scary. Putting on our big people pants can be difficult in the morning. When you look into the mirror every morning, you look at the person that people see. People look at you, and see the person staring at you in the mirror. Some days, it can be hard being that person. Maybe you’re fat, you’re ugly; you have too much grey hair, not enough hair, too much facial hair, not enough facial hair, too tall, too short… let’s face it, we’re imperfect beings in a culture that demands perfection.

            It may not seem like that around here, where life seems to pass us by on the lake. In our serene morning glimpses of sunrises over the water; in our causal conversations about the weather, sports, church goings on… The realities of the world seem distant. We don’t have people on the streets begging for change. We don’t have people marching in the street shouting for racial equality. People die from accidents, illness, injuries, old age… People aren’t murdered in our streets. When it does happen; when human remains are found 20 miles from here… It’s a scary thing. We’re not used to that. We love our quiet lives away from all of that. That’s why most of us are here, are we not? We’re a hearty bunch, us Minnesotans. We survive the coldest winters by either sticking around or seeking warmer climates. We survive the hottest, stickiest summers by cooling off in our lakes or sitting in our air conditioned-central aired houses. We are a hearty people.

            We are proud of our state. We are proud of being able to withstand the harsh climate, just to make a living out of the soil or live out our days in these beautiful homes on these pristine lakes. We are a proud people, because we are able to stand up to what the world throws at us. Even when floods tear apart the Fargo-Moorhead area, or avian flu destroys millions of turkeys and chickens, or tornadoes rip through our communities, we hold on to what we have because we are a strong, proud, and hearty people. Our ancestors braved this wilderness so that we could live our lives protecting what they left for us. When adversity comes our way, we withstand the blow.

            We stand up in the face of reality, and we say no. So when a change to the standard order happens, the things we’re used to standing up to… don’t make sense anymore… we fall into disarray.

 

            We are a proud people, but we are a stubborn people. This resistance to change is inherent to the core of our being. We withstand so much, why should we budge any more than we have to? Like Pastor Jim preached on last week, we have our traditions, and we hold on to them. But there are times when traditions that seem tired, or useless… need to change. But we are a strong, hearty people, and we will stand up for a fight.

            Our daughters are sick. There are problems in this world, in this state, in this community… that need to be rectified. There are people in this community that don’t have enough to eat at night; people who struggle with their identity, in fear of judgment or retribution. There are people suffering silently with mental health problems; people with physical ailments that go unnoticed. We live in a world that demands perfection, for we are a hearty stubborn people. We are a humble people. We don’t want people to know we have problems, because we don’t want to know people have problems in their lives. That is what I mean by this world demanding perfection. Our houses are kept clean, just in case people come over. Our churches are pristine and kept up. Yes, sometimes they leak or fall apart, but for the most part, our churches are kept in order. We fear other people’s thoughts on our problems. We fear other people knowing about our problems. When our children do adequate in school, we demand perfection out of them. Their grades can always be higher. Their sports performance can always be better.

            Why do we do this? Survival. Survival and tradition. We do these things to maintain our way of life. We want to keep our legacy alive. When the Washington Post calls a county in Minnesota the worst county in the country, we cry out in anguish and pain. We have such pride for Minnesota. We stand up for one another, no matter what. We advocate for one another.

            But when new Minnesotans come into our state, we’re wary. When the Hmong, Laotian, Bosnian, Latino and Somali immigrants come into our community, we’re wary of change. We have to redefine who we stand up for. The sooner we start seeing every Minnesotan as a beloved child of God; the sooner we start seeing every person as a beloved child of God; the sooner our daughters can be healed.

            For this Jesus who healed a Syrian woman’s daughter, and a deaf man by spitting in his face, heals us all. This Jesus, who told his disciples to not tell anyone about these miracles, would soon understand his calling, and fate. Jesus would soon understand that he was the Christ, the Messiah sent from God to save humanity from itself. For this Jesus would soon face death on a cross, on a lonely hill, surrounded by criminals, the other, the forgotten… Jesus the Christ would die on that hill to save us all from ourselves. The undeniable, unshakable, unwinnable Grace that was bestowed to all flowed out of Jesus that day, so all may know God’s love, grace and mercy. It is in response to that Grace that we are called to bestow our own grace, love and mercy upon our neighbors, no matter their lot in life.

            We have a strong sense of community in this state of ours. Read the response to the Washington Post article posted on Zion’s facebook page. I’ve posted it on my office door too. The author talks about his mistake in calling Red Lake County the worst place to live. He noticed the strong bonds we have for one another, and the strong sense of civic duty we have for things. ‘Minnesota Nice’ was true for him that day, and it’s true for us too.

            So when power stands in our way, we have a duty for our sick daughters to stand up for them. We have a calling to stand up to those who oppress us and our neighbors. For we are a hearty people. We can withstand the blow when adversity hits us. We know what the crumbs taste like, because our ancestors survived on crumbs to carve a life out for us in this beautiful state of ours. We honor their legacy by continuing to offer other, new Minnesotans the same chance at a better life. We have it good out here. If it takes a little push back now and then, we must remain vigilant and strong for our neighbors. Our daughters are sick, but through the Grace, Love and Mercy we fight for, they can be made well again.

I leave you with words from one of Minnesota’s children; Robert Zimmerman, better known as Bob Dylan. He wrote Blowin’ in the Wind in 1962, and his words still ring true today.

Yes, and how many years can a mountain exist,

Before it's washed to the sea

Yes, and how many years can some people exist,

Before they're allowed to be free?

Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head,

And pretend that he just doesn't see?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind

The answer is blowin' in the wind.

            Let’s not leave it blowin in the wind for too long folks. Our daughters are sick. Fight for them. Stand up for them. Live for them.

Amen.