Who's welcome here?
The Gospel of Luke • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Big idea: Jesus welcomes the dependent - don’t hinder them
Big application:
Come as you are - needy, helpless, nothing to offer
There’s absolutely no other way
Don’t hinder others (too unimportant, nothing to offer)
Outline:
Introduce me
Ever been turned down?
applying for funding - a huge US church who’ve supported over 500 new church starts
thought we were pretty much exactly their cup of tea, wrote pages and pages of application
they came back asking for more details, really specific questions. I really thought we were getting somewhere
then radio silence for months and when I eventually poked them they told us they’d allocated all their support out into 2020 and we just hadn’t made the cut; no offence - do apply again
but pretty early in the selection process they turned me down
so hard not to feel let down, hurt, angry, defensive in these things - “if that’s the way they’re going to treat us I’m never applying for any funding ever again!”
what about when the stakes are really high?
what about when the stakes are really high?
entering a country, handing over your passport
entering the country
pleading with the bank manager, just a little more time
asking that girl out after months and months of watching and waiting
we all hate to be turned away
disappointment, hurt - then the anger, defensiveness - and shame
makes us not want to have approached in the first place
transition
Reading
Reading
Blessing babies
Jesus is out kissing babies - like watching politicians on the news!
ok, not really kissing - Jesus is blessing babies
“place his hands on them” => seeking blessing ()
“babies” word is going to be important, it’s quite specific
pre-birth - Jesus’ forerunner () or very young - what the Christmas shepherds were sent to seek out ()
Hindering kinder
“place his hands on them” => seeking blessing ()
Hindering kinder
Jesus is busy blessing babies but the disciples are hindering kinder. You’ll be glad I gave up on trying for rhyming points right there. But the disciples, “they rebuked them” - why, disciples, why?
Jesus is too important for this sort of thing
“I’m more important than them”
Surprising welcome
Jesus calls them back, overruling his disciples: “let the little children come to me”
“little children” a broader word than those babies we started with but it has enough of a range to include them
Christmas story again: John, the forerunner to Jesus ()
On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah,
it’s the same babies in view - Jesus calls them back. Disagreeing with disciples; that’s what should have been on the slide :)
A surprising welcome - Jesus rejects the disciples’ (and the world of the day’s) view
children (sorry kids) historically unimportant - at least until they can work or breed - not idolised like today
children historically unimportant until they can work or breed - not idolised like today
illustrate - nobody’s buying one of these guys a pony for Christmas
Jesus rejects the disciples’ view - instead he tells us “the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” - lit: “of such is the kingdom of God”
Jesus says “the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” - lit: “of such is the kingdom of God”
the Kingdom of God = realm where God is honoured as king, realm of blessing, a realm where things are finally right, a realm with the ultimate hope for a perfect and forever future. It’s somewhere you want to be, somewhere that’s breaking into our world in Jesus and through him
we started out thinking about being turned down - this is somewhere you don’t want to be turned away from
And Jesus tells us here this Kingdom is composed of people like these babies
cute - but unimportant, insignificant, helpless - the disciples don’t think they are worth Jesus’ time and neither does anyone else
But wait, there’s more: one more thing Jesus has to say here
it’s only people like this - unless you’re like this, you “will never enter it” v17
disciples turning away babies, Jesus turning away everyone but babies
ok, not literally turning away everyone but babies
turning away people won won’t receive/welcome the Kingdom like babies
very emphatic - absolutely no way in apart from this
So let’s recap: what are we seeing here?
Jesus welcomes the insignificant, the helpless.
He tells his disciples not to hinder them.
He tells us that’s the only way to come to him.
So what?
Jesus won’t turn you down
Are you no-one special?
Jesus has time for you.
Lots of ordinary people here, not many significant types. Jesus has time for each one.
West Wing has the President always asking “what’s next?” as he tries to deal with the overwhelming set of demands placed upon him. Can picture God like that - far too busy for little old me. Not going to make it onto his agenda - he’s always got bigger fish to fry.
Amazingly I can promise you that Jesus, King of the whole universe, will make time for you - unimportant though you might be in this world’s eyes.
Jesus won’t turn you down.
you don’t need anything to bring
Do you have nothing to bring, no value to add?
Some pretty gifted people here, pretty cool things they can do, or thing they have done. Sometimes they can seem a bit intimidating.
But Jesus isn’t interested in what you can bring - nothing truly useful you could bring to the one who made the stars.
Jesus won’t turn you down
Do you feel like you’re helpless?
Well the people around you might look ok on the surface and tell you in that British way we’re “fine” - always “fine” - but you’re surrounded by people who know what it is to be helpless, people who have reached the end of their own resources, people who know what it’s like to be in desperate need of help from outside
That’s just the sort of people Jesus welcomes.
Jesus won’t turn you down.
Those babies were nothing special, had nothing to offer, just little bundles of helplessness and utter dependency. Babies simply can’t survive without help - they’re weak, vulnerable, needy. If you’ve had a baby you know how true this is - how complete and utter their dependency is. If you haven’t, let me let you in on a little secret:
if you’ve had a baby you know that’s true. If you haven’t, let me let you in on a little secret:
What does a baby do for you? wake you up. lots. cry. demand food. vomit on you. poop. and then if you’re lucky, sleep a bit. but just a bit. Rinse and repeat until you go crazy or thereabouts.
“of such is the Kingdom of God”, Jesus says. Those are his people, the ones he welcomes.
And what do you get back from them? not at lot. Particularly to start with.
“to such as these”, Jesus says. That’s the picture he chooses for those he takes as his people, those he welcomes into his kingdom, those he receives. Helpless, dependent, useless babies.
Jesus’ Kingdom isn’t a Kingdom for winners, for champions
Not a Kingdom for
It’s a Kingdom of the helpless, the dependent - so whoever you are, no matter how unimpressive you are, grasp his point here:
No-one else gets in
Jesus won’t turn you down
So if you’ve never gone to Jesus - never dared, never thought you were worth it - then I want you to hear him today: he says “the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” - it’s made up of people like this - people like you and me. That’s who he welcomes, who he accepts into his Kingdom.
Are you ready today to come to him like that? Because he’s ready to welcome you. Ready to take that step?
Talk to the person you came with. Talk to me. Do something today - don’t wait and assume there’ll be another day
Jesus won’t turn you down - that’s the big message here.
But Jesus also tells his disciples:
Don’t get in the way
The disciples are trying to keep babies away from Jesus; not worth his time, not as much as them disciples, anyway
Who do you think is too insignificant for Jesus? Who do you try and push away from him, like these disciples?
I wonder if most of us would say “no-one” - and think we don’t push anyone away, don’t keep anyone back
But what about people we push away simply by never offering them the opportunity to consider Jesus
just wouldn’t think
In our evening gatherings as we’ve been thinking about how we can all be engaged in sharing the hope that we have found in Jesus with the world around us in ordinary, everyday ways.
One of the things we’ve talked about is the value of the simple act of noticing the people around us each day. Particularly the people who might seem less significant. The lady at the checkout. The delivery guy. The security guy at the front desk. The person serving you your lunch.
Each of these people is precious to Jesus. But we can so often treat them like slot-machines, simply there to complete a transaction for us: take my card. give me my parcel. scan my badge. hand over my food.
When we treat them this way, when we de-humanise others, when we don’t have any time for them it’s like saying Jesus doesn’t have any time for them either - that they’re not significant enough for him.
So I want to challenge you this week to notice the people around you, the everyday people. To be careful to see them as people. Meet their eye. Say hello. Imagine what it must be like to live in their shoes for a moment. Wonder what their story might be. Pray a silent prayer for them. Show them love. Let them come to Jesus - don’t hinder them.
So sometimes we hinder people by dehimanising them, by not even noticing they are a person, just a cog in a giant machine. Other times we hinder people by deciding for them that they won’t want to come to Jesus - and so we never give them the opportunity.
Here’s what we have to remember: God chooses to save the most unlikely people. I mean, look at me! Look at you! God seems to take pleasure in saving unlikely people, in confounding our expectations about who might change, about who he might call.
Think back to the very first church - perhaps you’ll know the story of a guy named Paul. Before he became one of Jesus’ first followers, he was busy killing them. Straight up. How’s that for someone unexpected! The other early followers had a hard time letting him in the door because they could hardly believe it was possible.
But God loves to choose the unexpected, the one you think is impossible, where there’s no chance. That super-sciency guy. The follower of another religion. The angry old man. The coolest kid in the school. Kanye West.
So don’t hinder others by choosing for them that they don’t want to come to Jesus. That’s not your call to make. Jesus stands ready to welcome absolutely anyone - and Christians have often been astounded by who it is he chooses to call.
act like they don’t matter
assume we know they don’t want to know
Only the dependent get in
Last thing - and this is the really sobering point Jesus ends on: the only way to Jesus is to come like these babies: insignificant, helpless, dependent. “anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it”. Never. Let that sink in. “anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it”
So if you think you’re significant, if you think you’ve got something to offer, that’s not the way to Jesus - it’s a total dead end.
If we dare to think “Jesus could really use someone like me - he’ll be glad to have me in his corner” - we’re fools! He’s the Lord of the universe who creates out of nothing with just a word; he really doesn’t need our help.
If we dare to think “Jesus will be pleased with me, I’m doing good” - we’re fools! He knows us through and through; he knows the truth about who we really are, the things we think we can hide from everyone.
“Jesus will be pleased with me, I’m really quite something, I’ve got this” - fool! He knows you through and through; he knows the truth about who you really are, the things you think you can hide from everyone.
We’ve got nothing to offer that could open the way to Jesus - “anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child” - helpless, dependent - “anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it”
Do we really see ourselves this way, though: as winners, as worthy? It’s not very Scottish.
“Jesus will be pleased with me, I’m really quite something, I’ve got this” - fool! He knows you through and through; he knows the truth about who you really are, the things you think you can hide from everyone.
Probably the most I could say about myself in an authentically Scottish way is I’m nearly adequate. Sometimes.
I wonder how many of us really see ourselves this way, though: as winners, as worthy.
Even if we do project "winner” on the outside, I think inside, in our honest moments, most of us know we don’t add up to a whole lot. We’re just not that special, not that remarkable. We’re never going to be setting the heather on fire.
Good news! Jesus welcomes people like me.
The danger is more, I think, when we give others the impression that coming to Jesus has anything to do with these things.
Perhaps by presenting ourselves to others with more polish than we really deserve. You know, a sort of instagram filter we put over our life before we show it to others, to make it look tidier and more together. To present ourselves in a better light. Or at least to cover up some of the stains and dark patches.
Yeah that might give them the impression if they want to come to Jesus, they’ll need to sort themselves out first, make themselves more presentable.
When we suggest to them they’ll need to sort themselves out first, make themselves more presentable - not deliberately, at least not often. But subtly. I never have any doubts.
If the church looks to be filled with shiny, happy people, a crowd full of do-gooders putting on a good performance, then you can see how this could undermine Jesus’ declaration that it’s only the helpless, hopeless and dependent that he welcomes. It tells the world a different story
That’s why I think it’s so important we’re a transparent, authentic community where we don’t expect each other to have it together - but instead we recognise we’re all just helpless babes coming to Jesus for rescue. Even after our rescue, we’re still working through a whole world of debris left over; everything doesn’t just magically get sorted. And we just have to try and love each other through the mess - ‘cause we’re all in the same boat.
Let’s not kid ourselves: there can be huge pressure in churches to try and do it all right, get it all right, have it all together - and to be sure not tell anyone when we don’t. “Have you read your bible today?” I think if we’re honest, we all feel a bit of that pressure by nature. Who in this room doesn’t have something, big or small, that you’d prefer was covered up and not let out?
Even after our rescue, we’re still working through a whole world of debris left over; everything doesn’t just magically get sorted. But there can be huge pressure in churches to try and cover that up, to try and get it all right - and not tell anyone when we don’t.
But we’re all just helpless babes rescued by a loving saviour, no credit to us. So let’s tell the world the true story of our salvation. Let’s be a real, transparent community of grace.
The danger is when we give people the impression that coming to Jesus has anything to do with
comes whenever we feel that pressure to perform, to measure up, to be worth it. Receive him like a little child, helpless, dependent, bringing nothing, sure. Enter the kingdom, receive it like a little child. But then we have to get our house in order if we want to stay, right?
Wrong. The kingdom of God belongs to such as these, Jesus says - more literally, of such, of these babies, these helpless, useless, dependent babies - is the Kingdom of God. The substance, the material of the kingdom of God - not jut the door to it.
Never in this life will we get to the place where we’ve earned our place in his kingdom, where we’ve merited it, where we measure up. Never in this life will we be so useful, so significant, so sorted that we belong there by right.
Always, only, and ever, are we there as babies - helpless, insignificant, dependent.
It’s never, ever the case that
If you think you’ve got something to prove, you’re mistaken
Or even if you start to think you’re something
to pretend
Or even if you start to think you’re something
Here’s the problem: we can start feeling like we have to in order to make our way to Jesus - or to keep on walking with Jesus.
Whenever we start to think this way, start to think we’ve got something to prove, we’re mistaken. But more than that, whenever we start to think this way, we make trouble for ourselves.
If I have to perform, have to prove myself
And if I’ve failed to measure up, I need to cover that up - make sure no-one sees, no-one knows.
What this looks like in real life
What to do about it