Who Belongs In God's Kingdom

Who Belongs In God's Kingdom Mark 10:13-16 (NRSV) My wife permitted me to share her story. Before I met my wife, when Jackie was a teenager, she began to have severe stomach and back pain. The days and weeks passed, but the pain didn't. She went to the doctor, but they intentionally misunderstood her symptoms and told my wife she just had a pulled muscle. Then one morning, she couldn't pee. The pain of not being able to pee, on top of her existing pain, led her straight to the hospital. At the hospital, the doctors ignorantly insisted she had just pulled a muscle. My wife knew it wasn't a pulled muscle; this hurt too bad! Finally, a doctor discovered that my wife's pain was not a pulled muscle. It was a kidney stone, but this kidney stone grew into the size of a golf ball! The doctor's lack of compassion and misunderstanding led to a huge kidney stone and surgery. The surgery is called lithotripsy, and during this surgery, the doctor even punctured my wife's kidney! For a few grave hours, it was thought that my wife would need a new kidney, and her brother, who was in the Army at the time, was on standby to give her a kidney. Oh, how one ignorant moment of misunderstanding can lead to a domino effect of unfortunate (and sometimes painful) events. Jackie went through all this pain and mistreatment all because of a misunderstanding. It affected her day-to-day life and her overall well-being. When things are overlooked or taken for granted, misunderstandings can cause great harm. If you look at today's Scripture, you'll see that another misunderstanding that was causing harm was happening. This misunderstanding caused confusion and anger for everyone involved. Close your eyes for a moment and picture yourself in today's Scripture. You see Jesus, the disciples, the parents, and the children. The parents are bringing their children to Jesus, and the disciples are getting mad and "speaking sternly" to the parents. This, of course, would make the parents angry because who wants to be yelled at, especially for bringing a child to Jesus? Then we have the children, who no doubt are getting scared and upset at all the yelling going on. And all of this made Jesus angry, and He had to yell back at His disciples to "Let the little children come to Me." So, in all of this commotion, what made Jesus "indignant," as today's Scripture says? What set Jesus off? It was the selfish self-interest of the disciples. These disciples were the people who lived with Jesus. They ate with Jesus. They drank with Jesus. They walked and talked with Jesus. They traveled with Jesus. They heard Jesus teach in parables to the crowds, then got exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the meaning of those parables. If you were to turn back to Mark 9:35-36, you'll see that just recently, Jesus taught His disciples to be a servant of all and to welcome the little children. Jesus "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 it among them; and taking it 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.'" Right after that, chapter 10 begins by saying how they left that place, crossed the Jordan, and ended up where they are now. These are the disciples who not long ago were told to welcome the children. Now, here they are, with a misunderstanding of what they had just learned. Why the sudden change? One reason is that Jesus was frequently criticized for spending time with the "wrong" kind of people. People like tax collectors, Samaritans, sinners, women, and children. How can Jesus continually welcome those who society continually rejects? Another reason is how people think they need to hang around more important people to selfishly help improve their position and standing in life. But what constitutes an important person? Is your pastor an important person? Is your doctor an important person? Is your boss an important person? What about your spouse, or your parents, or your spouse's parents? What about your children? And if people are to hang around more important people to help improve their life, their social status, or their influence, then the disciples were being hypocrites in 2 different ways. First, they didn't realize that the parents were trying to get their children around an important person, Jesus. Second, the disciples themselves were guilty of doing the very same thing themselves by staying around Jesus, an important person. In today's Scripture, everyone wanted to be blessed by Jesus. And when a majority of people want something, the person or the people who restrain that want or judge who is worthy of getting that want, they wield a great amount of power. So, perhaps the disciples didn't realize just how much they did care who Jesus hung out with. I mean, if Jesus climbed the social ladder, then the disciples would too. That would mean a greater standing in their community. More money, power, influence, maybe even more fame. It sure would be a life improvement over their small fishing business. There's a funny but sadly oh so true story about a couple who had broken up about a year ago. It was a hurtful breakup, but then out of the blue, the couple reconnected through a letter that had been mailed. In that letter was written, "Baby, I miss you so much. I think about you every day. I want us to get back together again. P.S. Congratulations on winning the lottery!" You know, it's amazing just how fast people are willing to do things when there is a personal gain involved. It was the disciple's own self-interest and self-image that desired more gain. They lusted after power and influence. The disciples lived with Jesus and gave up everything to follow Him, but nobody was bringing their kid to the disciples. The disciples misunderstood Jesus, and jealousy set in. This shows that even those close to Jesus can wind up misunderstanding God's Word if they let a worldly agenda spiritually blind them to God's kingdom agenda. Just look at the church today. There is such a thing called the "Prosperity Gospel," which tells people to gain more faith so they can gain more stuff. There are "pastors" who only serve where there is great recognition, money, or benefits. There are plenty of ministries that serve people only after they serve themselves. And it's not only within the church that we see a power battle and a yearning for recognition. Many have said we live in a "Me First" culture where if it benefits you, do it. Where selfishness exceeds selflessness. Where climbing the corporate ladder means having no friends. Even in our regular day-to-day lives, it's easy to fall into the trap of materialism or trying to keep up with the Jones's. A person's title and social status isn't just a 2000-year-old problem; it's a 21st Century problem too. It was Henry Ironside who once said, "Pride is a barrier to all spiritual progress." Pride leads to misunderstanding Jesus, even if you're standing right next to Him. The disciples stood next to Jesus, but their actions revealed their own selfish self-interest and ignorant view of children as unimportant. For the disciples, they thought there was much greater and more important work to be done. Time is of the essence, and they had a crucial ministry of teaching and healing to get to. But here is Jesus, just hanging around kids. And when the disciples "spoke sternly" to the parents, Jesus became "indignant," mad, upset, angered, at the disciples. "Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs," Jesus shouted with authority! The lesson for the disciples and us today is that followers of Jesus are to be welcoming. To slow down and not worry about rushing to get everything done because God's will will be done according to God's timetable, not ours. All people matter to God; that includes the children. Disciples are to be welcoming and accepting, but what does this say about the children? After all, the children in today's Scripture are passive. They have no lines, no voice, and no recorded actions. So, are we only supposed to accept people whose character resembles a child's rather than an adults? Many people look at today's passage, especially verse 15 where Jesus says, "Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it," and assume that the kingdom of God belongs to anyone who is childlike. Someone who is open to loving others, not biased, who has the capacity for great faith, and who is not overly worried about tomorrow because they're busy enjoying today. All good qualities for sure, but this isn't quite what Jesus was getting at. Instead, read verse 15 like this, "Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as one would receive a little child will never enter it." Do you see the difference? Back then, slaves, Samaritans, women, and children didn't hold a high status in Israelite society. They were passive and had no voice. They had little to no rights, were looked down upon, deemed unimportant, and unappreciated. That view was reflected in the disciple's actions when they tried to prevent the children from coming. They ignorantly misunderstood Jesus hoping to gain more power and prestige for themselves by only associating with "proper" folks who would scratch their back if they scratched theirs. For the disciples, they had more important matters to attend to than spend time with unimportant people, people like children. How terribly sad and unwelcoming! But we see the same kind of things happening today. How many people are undervalued, overlooked, or unimportant? How many people are looked down upon? How many people live lives with no recognition. How many people live passive lives where their voice is never heard? Think of all the people working their fingers to the bone doing jobs many people wouldn't be caught dead doing. Think of the poor people who are told that they wouldn't be homeless anymore if they would just get a job or work harder. Or think of all the people barely making minimum wage, just trying to survive. What about the people who feel unwelcome inside the church for fear of rejection? What about people with a checkered past who can't find trust because of their past? Who else has the church misunderstood? Who else has the church rejected? What about the actual children? How has the church become non-child-friendly? We expect children to come, sit quietly and calmly for at least an hour. Some parents won't even come to church because it's easier not to go with children. Some churches have "Children's Church," where they're taken out of worship and separated into another room, excluding them. How can we, as the people of God and as a church, get children at the center of worship? What can we do so children aren't passive but active, engaged, important, valued, heard, and understood? Well, if you follow Jesus, then you are a disciple, and disciples are not to hinder anyone from coming to Christ. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs." The "such as these" are the people, who like the children in Jesus' time, are considered unimportant, unappreciated, neglected, and not heard. How do you welcome children and those who society rejects? You follow Jesus' example and love them. You listen, you hear, you take time for "the least of these" (Matthew 25:40). You welcome them into the forgiveness and new life of Jesus Christ. God's kingdom belongs to those who are not prideful, but who humbly receive Jesus with wholehearted acceptance because they are wholeheartedly accepted in Jesus. There will be people in your life who will try to block, stop, stand in the way, slow down, hinder, halt, or prevent you from not only coming to Christ, but also in your relationship with Christ. So take a lesson from the disciples, who misunderstood Jesus in today's Scripture, but who would later go on to spread Christianity, write the Gospels, and ultimately die for Jesus Christ. In our United Methodist Hymnal, we can find our baptismal vows (Pg. 34). As Christians, we are to live out our baptismal vows through our lives. So I remind you and ask you what our baptismal vows state: "Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin? Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves? Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in His grace, and promise to serve Him as your Lord, in union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?" Who belongs in God's kingdom? Jesus answered that question for the disciples, and hopefully for you too that "children such as these" belong to God's Kingdom. The poor, the marginalized, the overlooked, the voiceless, and the undervalued. People who are hungry and thirsty for more than what this life can give. People who long for mercy, forgiveness, peace, and love. Brothers and sisters, we are to take a stand, fight the good fight, live out our baptismal vows, and welcome "children such as these" because that's Who Belongs In God's Kingdom! AMEN 2