Children and the Kingdom of God

Today is Mothering Sunday, and one of the set readings for today is the passage we have just read from Mark's gospel. As a parent, it is a passage that I can easily identify with ...people bringing children to Jesus in order that he might touch them.

Throughout Mark's gospel, people bring to Jesus those who are in need, and often with the specific request that he might touch them. Some people bring to Jesus a deaf man who had a speech impediment, and they beg Jesus to lay his hands on him. And Jesus puts his fingers into his ears, and says to him, "Be opened" ...and immediately his ears are opened and he speaks plainly (Mk. 7.32-35). Others bring to Jesus a blind man, and they beg Jesus to touch him. And Jesus lays his hands on him ...and his sight is restored (Mk. 8.22-26).

You see, Jesus had a reputation of being someone who could meet people's needs. He came with his new and powerful message of God as the one who cares. And so, people brought the children to Jesus ...so that he might touch them, and bless them for their future lives. As a parent, I want the best for my children ...and if I had been in the crowd, I think that I would have wanted Jesus to bless my children too.

But surprisingly, this passage isn't so much about what adults are doing for the children, ...instead, it's about what the children can teach the adults. Children do have a lot to teach us ...if only we would listen to them!

Take my youngest daughter Jennifer, (who is two). We will be rushing to get somewhere, (because when you have got young children you are always late!), and Jennifer will suddenly stop ...and bend down ...and look at a flower in someone's garden ...and say, "Daddy, daddy, look at this pretty flower." An I shout back, "Hurry up Jennifer, we haven't got time to stop and look at flowers!"

...but I realise that I have much to learn from her attitude to life. She reminds me that I need to slow down at times, and to enjoy the beautiful things that God has made. ...that there is something wrong if life is always a big rush.

And so this afternoon, we are going to see what we can learn from the children.

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But first, it will be helpful to understand why St. Mark has put this story in the place that he does. One of the main themes in Chapters 8-10 of Mark's gospel is this: "What does it mean to be a true follower of Jesus?"

Now you would have thought that if anyone knew what it means to be a true follower of Jesus, it would be Peter, James, John, and the rest of the disciples. But the point that Mark wants to make is that the disciples have got it hopelessly wrong, (so if you think that you get things wrong too, then take heart!).

For example, in Chapter 6 we find 5000 men with nothing to eat, and Jesus takes five loaves and two fish, and everyone eats and has enough to eat (Mk. 6.30-44). Who could forget such a wonderful miracle? ...the disciples could! In chapter 8 we find 4000 men with nothing to eat, and the disciples say to Jesus, "Where in this desert can anyone find enough food to feed all these people?" (Mk. 8.4). How could they have forgotten the feeding of the 5000?

Also in Chapter 8 we find Jesus telling the disciples how he will be rejected by the Jewish authorities, be put to death, but would then rise to life. Mark tells us that, "He made this very clear to them" (Mk.Ê8.31Ä32). Who could fail to understand what Jesus meant? ...the disciples could! Jesus has to say the same things again in Chapter 9 (Mk. 9.30-32), and because they still fail to grasp it, he has to tell them a third time in Chapter 10 (Mk. 10.32-34).

And then in Chapter 9, we have the disciples arguing among themselves about who is the greatest (Mk. 9.33-37). And Jesus says, "Whoever wants to be first, must place himself last of all and be the servant of all." ...And Jesus takes a child ...and puts his arms round him ...and says to the disciples, "Whoever welcomes in my name one of these children, welcomes me." ...Who could fail to welcome children after Jesus had said that? ...you're right, the disciples could!

In our Bible reading today, we read that "People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, ...but the disciples rebuked them. ...When Jesus saw this he was indignant", (I'm sure that he was, this was yet a further example of the disciples getting things hopelessly wrong). And Jesus said to them, "Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs."

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But why did the disciples stop the children in the first place?

Mark doesn't explicitly tell us, but he gives us some important clues. Mark tells us that one of the reasons why the disciples keep getting things hopelessly wrong, is because they are obsessed with personal status. We have already seen how they had been arguing about who was the greatest, and later on in Chapter 10 they have a similar argument. James and John secretly go up to Jesus and selfishly ask if they can have privileged positions in his glorious Kingdom (Mk.Ê10.37 GNB), ...and when the other ten disciples hear of this, they get so angry. ...And Jesus has to tell them again, "Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all" (Mk. 10.43-44).

So perhaps it is because of their obsession with personal status that we find the disciples stopping the children from coming to Jesus. After all, Jesus was the great Messiah, (and they were his chosen disciples). Jesus had many important people to meet, he couldn't possibly want be bothered with little children. ...But they had got it hopelessly wrong once again, and they didn't see that Jesus' mission was to all people.

So Jesus says, "Do not stop them ...for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs." Mark then adds the amazing words of Jesus... "Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it". How ironical! The disciples are not only rebuked for stopping the children, they are now told that they themselves must become like children!

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But in what ways are the followers of Jesus to be like children?

Well, some people might think that they are to be as innocent as children; but such people would soon change their mind if they met my children!

A couple of weeks ago Jennifer, asked for a drink of blackcurrant juice. She normally drinks from a trainer cup, but this time she asked if she could have it in a proper cup; my wife agreed, on the condition that she sat down and drank it very sensibly. This she did ...at least at first. A little while later my wife saw her putting her hand in the cup and sprinkling the blackcurrant juice all over her clothes. She was told that if she didn't drink it sensibly it would be taken away. So Jennifer started to drink it sensibly again ...at least for minute or two. But a little while later she was sprinkling her clothes yet again. ...and when asked if she was going to drink sensibly, she grinned and defiantly replied "No!".

So, if Jesus wasn't referring to the innocence of children, what was he referring to?

Well, other people think that the followers of Jesus are to be as trusting as children; they are to have a childÄlike faith. Now this seems more plausible; it is certainly true that little children can be very trusting. If I tell my children something, they generally believe me.

Emily, (my older daughter who is five), has quite bad eczema. But when I put some special cream on it, and tell her that it will help to make it better, she believes that it will. It's as simple as that.

And it is also true that Jesus commended people for their faith. Do you remember the friends of a paralysed man who brought him to see Jesus? The crowd was so big that they couldn't get into the house ...so they made a hole in the roof and lowered him in that way. And we are told that, "when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven'." (Mk. 2.9).

Do you also remember the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years? She pushed her way through the crowd and touched Jesus' cloak, and was immediately healed. And Jesus said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering" (Mk.Ê5.34).

So Jesus could have been saying that his followers are to have I child-like faith... but I don't think that this is the main point here. Instead, I think that Jesus is referring to the openness of the children. Jesus says, "Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." You see, we become members of God's kingdom by receiving a gift ...and that is something that children are especially good at.

At Christmas our children were happy to receive presents from anyone who wanted to give them one. They aren't self-conscious like us adults ...you don't find children saying, "Oh, you shouldn't have bothered!". ...And they don't worry if they haven't got a present to give in return. Because of their openness, children are happy to receive things as a gift.

And I think that this is the main point that Jesus is trying to get through to his disciples. In effect Jesus is saying, "Don't get all caught up with ideas of greatness, ...don't think of yourselves as being more important than others, ...because such things count for nothing in God's eyes. You don't become a member of God's kingdom because you are an important person, ... but by receiving it as a free gift... Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it."

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I shall finish with one last illustration.

At Christmas we gave our children a really big present, all nicely wrapped up. When they opened it, they found that it was a box which was full of other presents. ...They spent ages diving into this box and pulling out lots of other exciting presents.

And in some ways, the gift of the kingdom of God is like that. When we open it, we find that it contains many other exciting gifts. For example:

- God's gift of forgiveness ...that we may be freed from the guilt of sin;

- God's gift of eternal life ...that we might be put right with God, both in this life, and in the life to come;

- God's gift of adoption ...that we might become God's children;

- God's gift of the Holy Spirit ...that He may change our lives, and make us more like Jesus.

It is a very precious gift, one which is freely given, but one which cost Jesus his life on the cross.

And so, have you received the gift of God's kingdom?

We can't earn God's forgiveness, ...we can't get to heaven by living a good life, ...we can't become God's children by being religious. We can only receive these things as a gift. By recognising our need to be open, we will be praying, "Lord, I don't deserve any of these things, but I believe that Jesus died so that I may receive them. Thank you!"

Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it."

Amen.