Scripture13 People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. 14 But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and 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. 15 Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ 16 And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. (Mark 10.13-16)ReflectionWhy were people bringing their children to Jesus? More likely than not, they were brought to him to say goodnight and so that he could bless them. Maybe they were the children of the house where Jesus and his disciples were staying? The disciples probably felt that this was taking up Jesus’ precious time, but this made Jesus angry! The children clearly mattered to him.He is using the little child as an example of those who possess no earthly power, are free of the trappings of material wealth and influential friends. This is how we must become: trusting and open to receive God’s blessing. Yesterday, as we were singing the last hymn, ‘Tell out my soul’, a little girl was dancing! She was participating with her whole being in our worship. This is the spirit in which Jesus wants us to become like little children, giving ourselves wholly over to God. When we do so, His Kingdom breaks in. Let this week be one for you, when you have at least one moment where you give yourself fully over to God, just like a little child!Revd Ylva Blid-Mackenzie
Scripture38 John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’ 39But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me. 40Whoever is not against us is for us. (Mark 9:38-40)ReflectionGod uses unexpected people to do his work. (There are plenty of examples of that in the Bible: Moses, Jospeh, David…the rag-tag bunch of first disciples!) I experienced that when I was exploring my call to ordination: God using the most unexpected people to ask me, “When are you going to get ordained?” (Even someone who professed not to believe in God asked me!) God can and does work through all sorts of different people. We should not limit what God can do, or how he does it, because that person does not comply with our stereotype of who is able to do God’s work! It is a pretty incredible demand that the disciple, John, is making…..he’s trying to limit who God can work through! Let’s not fall into the same trap.It can be uncomfortable to see others - people who we have deemed as “not being Christians” - doing things to help where they have seen a need…… and we either haven’t seen the need or, worse still, have ignored it!Revd David
