Who We Are

Mark 10:13-16

I love how the passage about Jesus' hospitality to children will be the final sermon I preach before my parental leave begins. And in this story of Jesus' love for children, I love how Jesus modeled for us ways in which anger is a good and holy thing.

"Now people were bringing little children to Jesus in order that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, he was angry..." (Mark 10:13-14)

Jesus anger was holy and good because it was anger on behalf of the vulnerable: children. The disciples, long used to crowds following Jesus, people clamoring for healing, and other interruptions to their travels, were impatient with those who wanted Jesus to touch their children. Jesus' touch was a healing touch--a loving touch, and so it was not surprising that people clamored for Jesus to lay hands on their kids.

Perhaps the disciples found this irritating because it slowed their progress down. Or maybe they were worried about Jesus' safety. But they behaved in a way that many of us do, reprimanding the children as they got under foot and caused inconvenience. Even more than two thousand years in the future, I think we can acknowledge that we share a lot in common with those whose stories are told in scripture.

I wonder if these people with children were thinking about doing anything they possible could to set their kid up for a good life. In the way that we obsess over decisions today like breast feeding and cord clamping and screen time and all of these small but seemingly significant choices around child birth and child raising--I wonder if I have something in common with the parents who just want their kids to have a chance to meet Jesus.

And I wonder about all of the parents with kids in our neighborhood. What are their dreams for their children?

I think this passage is one way we can reflect on who we are as a church. Because perhaps one of the most important things we can ever do in our corner of creation is to mimic the hospitality to children in our neighborhood that Jesus showed to children being passed to him in order that they might be blessed.

How can we bless children as a church? Some of the ways might be in the old school ways we might expect: develop a youth group, breathe new life into sunday school, having exciting outings and memorable church lock-ins.

But what if that way of being hospitable to children doesn't work in a post-pandemic 2022 neighborhood a block from West Colfax? Are we courageous to be led by children toward what they need? Are we willing to be creative in what we might do in ministry? Are we willing to be courageous enough to invest in the staff we need to help us do this well in our neighborhood?

I think this passage of Jesus' welcoming children is a wonderful way to proclaim who we are. We are a church of welcome. A church that has a place for everyone, especially children in the midst of what we are doing--no matter how "underfoot" and troublesome they might seem! A church that sees in everyone a child of God, and thus a blessing for all we encounter."