October 4, 2015
Pentecost 19
Mark 10:13-16
Hebrews 2:5-10
(prayer)
‘Jesus was indignant’ is
the phrase used in the New Revised Standard Version of the English language
bible. In fact, ‘indignant’ is the most
common English translation for the original word found in Mark 10:14.
The roots of the English
word are latin meaning: without dignity
or unworthy.
Indignation is a string
emotion. It is a form of anger. To be indignant is to be bothered by an
observed unfairness.
Some of the other choices
of English translators say that ‘Jesus was much displeased’ and ‘Jesus grew
angry’ and ‘Jesus was upset’, ‘Jesus became irritated’.
Let’s be honest: Jesus was [pissed] off when his disciples
told the parents to get their children away from Jesus.
That attitude irritated
him, it angered him:
“Hey!
What are you doing?
Don’t stop them.
Let them through.
Let
the little children come to me...
Hi. I’m Jesus; what’s your name?”
//
It must have been a
powerful moment - for Jesus to go out of his way to be welcoming and accepting.
The disciples come off
looking not-so-good in this passage. But
I don’t think we have to conclude that the disciples were being mean or
insensitive.
They had witnessed times
when Jesus was overwhelmed by the crowds and needed to be left alone. Perhaps they were simply trying to protect
him from too much contact.
Jesus’ reputation as a
healer was probably what brought the crowds to him most days. I can imagine that some people would see a
simple from Jesus for their child might offer them some protection from harm.
Maybe it was this
presumptuous attitude that drew the ire of the disciples.
//
I suspect that the children
had very little idea what all the commotion was about. Why were these visitors to their town yelling
at their parents? And why were their
parents so insistent that they should come see the healer?
//
You see when we enter this
story, the focus is not on the children - it is on the adults: the parents, the
disciples, Jesus.
//
I like to imagine that
Jesus is preoccupied with some other visit, when, out of the corner of his eye,
he catches the argument between the disciples and parents. He stops and looks to see what the problem
is. I like to imagine that Jesus sees
beyond the combative adults and makes eye contact with one of the
children. Maybe Jesus sees some worry or
fear in that child’s eyes with all the fighting going on around her. Jesus saw an innocent child caught up in
something beyond his control.
He inserted himself into
the conflict to end it: to put the focus on the innocent and the worried in the
situation.
“Let the children come to
me.
Don’t stop them.”
//
The message he would leave
for the adults was that ‘all of us need to be like little children as we seek
the Realm of God.’
If
you can’t receive the kingdom of God like a little child, you will never enter
it.
//
What does it mean to be
‘like a little child’?
//
All assumptions of culture and protocol that we have been told or have learned are set aside and a fresh honest interaction happens.
Jesus was indignant when that wasn't allowed to happen.
//
When we are young,
generally, we are curious. We are
willing to discover as we go.
Almost immediately, as we
try to live out those instincts, the people around us - who honestly care for
our well-being - will watch us closely and step in to protect us from the
dangers that our innocence might encounter.
As we get older, we - as
humans - begin to replace our natural curiosity with cautiousness. We become suspicious of that which is
new. We become worried about the
unknown, rather than being excited by it.
It’s pragmatic. It makes sense.
It is called maturing.
//
But I suspect that we all
can admit that (regardless of the positive aspects of a cautious outlook), we
have lost some joy and wonder in this evolution.
//
Jesus may be telling the
adults in the room, that - when it comes to the hope and promises of God - that
joy and wonder are necessary.
Jesus sees what is needed
in the eyes and hearts of the young children being brought to him. Children who had no idea why they were there;
why it was so important to their parents; why these other got upset.
Jesus broke the cycle of
the moment and brought everyone back to a more innocent, joyous and
wonder-filled time.
//
//
Cautiousness has its place,
but when it comes to the best our spirits can offer this world, cautious can
hinder the welcoming work of Jesus.
//
I’ll say more about it next
week, but when worry and fear are our front-and-centre responses to a new
situation, we are closing our hearts to the possibilities of God being at work
in our midst.
//
Since, we Canadians are in
the midst of a federal election campaign and as we watch our North American
neighbours engage in their two year long political posturing before their next
national elections, we see and hear a lot about worry and fear.
Myself, I am baffled by the
disproportionate attention the issue of niqabs and citizen ceremonies is
getting.
The most open argument is
that someone other than the person who has earned the right to citizenship
might show up and take the oath.
I wonder how many people
are aware that the current practice for women who want to wear their
traditional attire in public citizenship ceremony is that - just prior to the
formalities, the person uncovers to an official privately to confirm their
identity.
What is really going on is
not about sneaking the wrong person into the ceremony, it is about an inability
to accept that we are part of diverse human family - with diverse and markedly
different cultural practices within
the citizenry of our nation. This has
always been true, but perhaps it is more obvious as our wide world gets smaller
as people are able to move around our globe so much more easily.
Do you think a little child
would care about such things?
//
And... we all continue to
see the impact of the Syrian civil war on our fellow global citizens around the
globe. It is a complex conflict because
it is not as simple a rebel group seeking to overthrow a government (like most
civil wars). There are several groups of
opposition rebels... most notably, but not exclusively the Islamic State. We saw it get more complicated this past week
when the Russian military got directly involved.
Can you blame anyone in
that region for wanted to flee way from the conflicts.
And yet... people who are
far from the battlefield are expressing great caution. Are these migrants really who they say they
are?
I heard one right-wing
pundit in the US this week say (it might have been Rush Limbaugh?) the vast
majority of the adult male refugees could just be a sleeper ISIS army trying to
sneak into other countries.
This attitude of worry and
fear and blanket judgment is behind the lack of action on increasing the
possibilities of refugees finding refuge on north American shores.
Do you think a little child
would care about such things?
//
//
Cautiousness highlights
what differentiates us.
Curiosity is a vehicle to
learning.
//
As far of the movement of
our spirits - as we seek to live in God’s way and follow in Jesus’ example, we
are called to give a rebirth to our curiosity and openness and welcome.
//
Jesus’ disciple questioned
why the parents and their children felt they deserved to be in the healer’s
company. Why them? Why not someone else?
//
The author of the letter to
the Hebrews has an interesting phrase on the question why. Why does God even care about us? Why do we merit the attention of the Holy One?
The letter writer doesn’t
answer the question, but leaves the readers with the obviousness of their
situation - that God does care. Even if
you can’t make sense of it - it is just part of who God is and how God operates.
Jesus’ proudly calls all
people his sisters and brothers.
//
In Mark, we see that this
acceptance is not restricted by age or gendre or familiarlity.
Who are we that we should
not follow this example?
//
//
Jesus invites us all to see
with curious eyes, to reach out with discovery-hungry hands, to move with
excited feet into new places where love and compassion can flourish.
//
Let us pray:
God, we long to know your presence in
our lives. Sometimes, it is hard to feel
you close. Yet we will hold to the
promise that you welcome us and call us your children. Amen.
***offering***
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