Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity Mark 10:2-16 and Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12

Who is welcome in God’s place? And where is God’s place, we may also then ask. Psalm 26 says, ‘O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell, and the place where your glory abides.’ (v8). We are used to calling a church God’s house, and in essence that is of course true. But we also know the Church to be the whole body of believers, wherever they are and gather. In today’s reading from Mark’s Gospel, we find Jesus being asked a trick question about divorce. Some Pharisees trying to let him say something that might trip him up, against the backdrop of king Herod’s irregular way of marrying his brother’s wife, and John the Baptist’s sad demise because of his criticism of Herod. In response to the Pharisees’ question, Jesus refers them back to God’s initial purpose for marriage from the beginning of creation in bringing husband and wife together as one. His words ‘Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate’, are still used in marriage ceremonies in church today. After this conversation, Mark continues with the account of people bringing little children to Jesus to bless them. The disciples, possibly concerned that Jesus might be ‘overrun’ with little ones who distract him from his mission, turned them away. But Jesus won’t have any of that. Instead, he is indignant and says 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.’ And his final word about this, is rather sharp: ‘Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ How do we interpret this? Well, we can see what a child is: small in stature and in status (especially in those days), vulnerable, trusting, reliant on the care of others. There are also other characteristics that we can often observe: an awareness of the spiritual side of life, and an ability to absorb knowledge and skills. So, when Jesus is saying that we need to ‘receive the kingdom of God as a little child’, I think he is referring to those particular characteristics of children and that are necessary in order to enter God’s kingdom. For we cannot enter without humility, without a proper understanding of our own vulnerability and our need for God’s love, mercy and care. In the letter to the Hebrews, the author wonders about God’s care for human beings, quoting from Psalm 8, saying: ‘What are human beings that you are mindful of them, or mortals, that you care for them? You have made them for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned them with glory and honour.’ We know that, what with all the things that we have done wrong, we cannot find a reason why God should regard us with any favour at all. But he does, through his Son Jesus Christ, who has made us God’s children. Therefore, as children, we are loved and treasured, and have access to the throne of grace – even though we are unworthy of his attention. Hebrews continues: ‘It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer (Jesus) of their salvation perfect through sufferings. […] For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.’

So, who is welcome in God’s place? All who, like children, accept his Son, Jesus Christ. So that they can gain entrance into God’s kingdom, which is already here and not yet; which is today and still to come; which is wherever people live and gather in His name. As the Bible says, ‘Jesus Christ, who lives in our hearts through faith.’ That is where God’s kingdom has begun. Amen.