Little children belong to Jesus. They are members of the church now and citizens of the Kingdom of heaven. Jesus didn’t leave a list of rules children had to keep or texts which needed to be memorised. Participation didn’t depend upon what they understood or whether they were baptised. It depended on their welcome. He said that whoever welcomes a child in his name welcomes him and his heavenly Father who sent him. We are privileged in coming into contact with many children and are usually welcoming.. However, for many reasons parents struggle to bring their children up within the church and after baptism we often don’t see them again until their weddings. We have little space at the back and front of church for children to play. Children can be noisy. Mums struggle with babes in arms. Whilst older children take part in the ministry of the church it is difficult to find space where younger ones can learn together in an age appropriate way. We do not have a children’s worker and there are many safeguarding and training hoops that volunteers have to go through before they can be left with children. Our PCC is struggling with what is needed. I had hoped to start a service for toddlers and their families with simple liturgy sung to nursery rhyme tunes, a cross between Messy Church and “Diddy Disciples.” We had three volunteers from the congregation who were going to help when the pandemic hit! One of the volunteers died, another had extra foster children and the other became more disabled. The project became unviable. Then the old betting shop on Frankley became available. We are reaching out to others in our area but not specifically to children. The conversation in our passage took place between Jesus and a small group of disciples just after his transfiguration when he had been seen by his closest friends in all his heavenly glory talking to Moses and Elijah about suffering to come. Jesus was reminding them for the second time that he would be killed and rise again when they reached Jerusalem. Jesus’ death and resurrection are central to what we believe. When we are baptised we identify with both the new life that Jesus brings, and his death and suffering. Because our children are too young to understand this, parents and godparents make promises on their behalf hoping that one day they will choose Christ for themselves and follow him. We repent of our sins and renounce evil leading to the death of our old lives and the new resurrection life which Jesus gives in its place, a life made possible because Jesus died for us. Where Jesus rules it is not adults, priests, teachers, politicians and parents who are important, but those who know they need Jesus and come to him as a child comes to his parents. Our status, and size are unimportant. We come ready for what Jesus wants to do in our lives, not with our own agendas, plans. Jesus took a child in his arms to teach his disciples what they must be like. Jesus has a special love for children. To receive Jesus into our hearts, he said we must be like a little child. He doesn’t mean we are to be childish and he definitely doesn’t want us to be like the twelve disciples who had been arguing as to who was the greatest. They were thinking about glory and victory. They couldn’t comprehend that Jesus, the Son of Man would suffer and die as we all will, They had just seen him revealed as the Son of God and had a glimpse of heaven. We need to be humble on the inside so that we can come to Jesus in faith and invite him to take us into his arms and hold us in his love, just as he did for the child in the reading. We lack time. We are busy, cooking, cleaning, washing, ironing, shopping, going to work, driving our children around to the places they want to go. Jesus always has time and love for us, his children, when we come to him in faith; time to listen and time when we can hear his words. When we spend time with our children we show how valuable they are. Time spent in worship, prayer, and coming to church is not wasted. It is time to love God and be loved by him. We should we receive Jesus like a little child. Little Children are not hypocrites. They are always fully themselves and don’t pretend to be someone they are not. They cry, laugh and, dance in an uninhibited, spontaneous way not knowing social conventions. We need to come as we are, letting God know how we feel. We come dependent, vulnerable needing to rely totally on Jesus. We come asking questions. The disciples were too afraid to ask Jesus questions about what he meant when he said he would be killed. Jesus invites us to ask him for what we need, to come in prayer, asking our questions. Small children are forever asking questions and inquisitive. They explore, sometimes in a noisy, playful, foolish way. There is much more to learn and explore which is why we put on courses and give Bibles to those who come for baptism. Children live in the present moment. They are now people. The time to come to Jesus and receive his love is right now Children are trusting. They jump from a height into their parent’s arms. Jesus wants us to take a leap of faith into his arms of love, not to sit on the fence but to trust him. Children love presents. They can’t wait to get the wrapping paper off at Christmas and on birthdays and we love to give. They receive gifts which cannot be earned. There are many gifts we receive when we come to Jesus, love, forgiveness, the gift of God’s Holy Spirit, They are costly gifts. Jesus paid the price for them on the cross. They cannot be earned. Children learn quickly and copy others. We become followers of Jesus by copying him Children have huge potential and promise. Whatever age we are, a baby or in our nineties, as Christians we have a future hope full of potential and promise. Jesus says that as we welcome little children as one of us, we receive him and his heavenly Father. Little children are as able to receive the love of God and the gift of the Holy Spirit as we are. We haven’t got to grow up to become a Christian. Church goers sometimes complain because children don’t behave like them. They are too noisy or upset the service at the wrong time. They may not know how to make them welcome.
Jesus asks "Who do you say that I am ?" Some said they thought he was John the Baptist. They may have Jesus and his cousin John mixed up as their collective message was consistent. Some thought he was Elijah. It is reasonable to question whether John had the spirit of Elijah. Peter says, "You are the Messiah" Other versions recall Peter saying "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" Jesus foretells that he will be attacked by the elders and the scribes and be put to death and three days later will rise from the dead. Mark says that Peter rebukes Him for this. What do you imagine Peter said ?... Aren't you being too dramatic. You don't really have to go through all of that. Surely, you would be of greater use if you remain here... teaching and healing. As you are the Messiah, become a ruler and save even more people ? Whatever he said, Jesus clearly did not like it. Get behind me Satan ! Is that the way that you would talk to one of your friends ? Directly implying that your precious friend is the devil or saying the devil's words. Jesus was familiar with the devil. Do you think he appeared with his two horn, long tail and pitchfork. That is the fictitious devil harmless enough to be the people's friend. Here, the devil is the smooth voice of reason giving plausible excuses for missing the mark. You look very hungry, go on, turn those stones into tasty bread... you can do it... if you really are the Son of God. You can't really do God's work on an empty stomach. Come on, you will feel much better. Jesus crossly says, you can't live by bread alone. Keeping the eyes fixed on this world will never fulfil the eternal plan. Throw yourself off the temple pinnacle. You need to be sure that you really have come to do God's work. Obviously if you get killed then he can't have wanted you here.. but if he has planned it.. then he will have to send his angels to rescue you. Jesus responds... "It is written, you do NOT put the Lord your God to the test." Later, Jesus was now on his way across a mountain... Satan says, I have charge of all the world below... I will give it all to you ...if you will bend to knee to me. The gospel says that the devil gave up..... for a while. Years ago, I had a friend who I had climbed many Welsh summits with. We had all sorts of interesting conversations. One day, he said, he was in training to climb Everest. I tried hard to dissuade him... saying, the British mountains are wonderful enough, isn't this too dangerous. You may not come back. But ascending Everest was his dream. Weeks later he was one of fifteen who flew to Kathmandu. They were frozen and had to constantly walk up and down to cope with the altitude and lack of air. Sadly, only 13 came back, two were caught in an avalanche and never seen again. I remember how the skin on his hands sagged loose afterwards, due to the severe attack of cold. Sometimes, when someone knows they have to do something, they will not be deterred. Peter wanted Jesus' life saved, but Jesus knew that taking the short term easy way out would have wrecked his purpose. So he continues.... if you hold on too tight to everything on earth your destiny will be lost... but those who surrender for me will keep their soul. What does it profit a man or woman if they gain the entire world ? but lose themselves in the process. Some have riches and are worshipped as celebrities..... does this make them happy ? Contentment is rarely their experience. Notice how possessions can own you rather than you owning them. Our reading ends with hard words.. those who are ashamed of me and disown me... from this adulterous generation.. I will disown them. Shame happens for varied reasons, maybe from receiving poor treatment. One may be embarrassed because you appreciate well the counter arguments. There may be a longing for approval. Jesus calls the generation adulterous ? This is not necessarily about marriage, but a widespread inconsistency, which lacks true loyalty. Sometimes we can have an easier ride by having a foot in both camps. Then we struggle to hear the still small voice? This lesson today is not an easy one, but we can take encouragement that our Lord has been with us in this struggle and though Him, we can achieve all things.
From the moment a pregnant woman’s baby kicks she wonders what baby will look like and who baby will become. She imagines outings, cuddles, the school she will send Junior to and how he or she will fit into the family and community. The mum in our reading loved her daughter and was desperate for her well being. Her daughter hadn’t turned out as she expected. Despite her efforts she wasn’t able to help her. Women in the Middle East didn’t go to school. Her mum would be worried about how her daughter would fit into her extended family and community. She would be embarrassed to take her to other people’s homes or let her play with girls of her age. Marriage, (all important for a girl) would be impossible. The mother would have felt excluded from family and community events. Her husband had probably left her. She could have been blamed for her daughter’s condition. It would have been easier for a father to approach Jesus than this woman. She would worry about leaving her daughter in the house when she went to get water or food and when going to see Jesus. Instead of her being able to do the lovely things mothers do with daughters, this girl was controlling every part of her mother’s life. The mother must have cringed at village gossip and even though she didn’t share her daughter’s ailment, would have shared her shame She had probably listened to the advice of mothers whose children were well behaved and tried their remedies. She may have been prayed for by exorcists and priests of different gods who lived in the vicinity. As a Syro Phoenician, Canaanite Gentile she had probably pleaded with many gods to heal her daughter. We do not know what symptoms the girl presented with but we are told she had an unclean spirit. Since this passage comes after our reading last week where Jesus said it wasn’t what went into our stomachs that defiled us, but words and actions which came out, we can guess that she spoke and acted in a way which labelled her unclean and stigmatised her family. She may have been sexually abused. She could have seen and heard things no young girl should hear within the close living quarters of the Middle Eastern home. She may have suffered from Tourettes and constantly blurted out embarrassing things which she could not control. She may have had autism, brain damage or some other condition which meant she was wired differently to other children. She may have been controlled by fear or some other psychiatric illness. Many of us don’t have the babies we hoped for. Desperate mums care full time for children with awful disabilities. Others mourn because their much loved children have deliberately behaved badly, got themselves into a mess and are out of control. Parents whose children behave violently or swear, shout and are defiant long for a better relationship with their children. Parents in these positions often feel isolated. They need us to walk alongside them even though getting involved is time consuming and we haven’t got easy answers. Those of us with children or grandchildren with disabilities pray for a miracle. Isaac are oldest grandson is severely autistic. When walking with him in late evening two weeks ago a gentleman came out of his home because he thought he heard an animal in pain. We know a little of what it means to avoid public places. Jesus doesn’t always answer in the way we would like him to. We find the response of Jesus to this desperate woman offensive. We sympathise with her and miss how rude she was. Jesus had travelled a long way to escape the crowds and hostile religious authorities, travelling by land and ship. He was in a region which today is part of Lebanon, at least 40 miles North East of Capernaum where the majority of his ministry took place. He didn’t want anyone to know where he was, presumably so he could have a rest and spend time in prayer. Jesus was so well known it was difficult to travel anywhere without being recognised and followed. The mother, having discovered where he was, didn’t respect his privacy, or acknowledge that he needed a rest. She infringed upon his space and affronted his dignity. She shouldn’t have had anything to do with Jesus because she was an unaccompanied woman and men and women in the Middle East weren’t allowed to mix. Like the woman who was haemorrhaging and the woman who washed Jesus feet with her hair she was breaking the rules and conventions of society and like those women, Jesus was going to commend her for it. She was a Gentile and Jesus was a Jew. Jews looked down upon Gentiles because they were not considered God’s chosen people. This woman was an outsider of the wrong race, wrong gender and wrong religion. Against all the conventions and restrictions of her society, she came to Jesus, bowed down at his feet in total submission and became vulnerable. Bowing down was the way of homage and worship to a King. It is also the position of supplication and prayer. She begged Jesus to cast the demon out of her daughter. Since the daughter wasn’t present, maybe she expected Jesus to come with her. Perhaps she didn’t want to disrupt Jesus further by bringing a girl who was unpredictable and unstable. Instead of compassion, she received a rebuff, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and feed it to the dogs.” Greeks used the term dogs to describe shameful women, much as we use the sexist insult bitch. Jews also used the term as an insult. Three times in the Bible it says, do not take what is holy and give it to the dogs. Jesus was saying in metaphorical language that healing and salvation was for the Jews. In comparing her to a dog, he wasn’t even giving her the dignity of being human. Because she wasn’t Jewish she wasn’t entitled to either his time or ministry. Some think that what Jesus was saying was not as harsh as it first sounds. He wasn’t describing the wild dogs of the street but the little pet lap dogs of the house. He took the sting out of the word dogs. And Jesus didn’t shut the door to this mother receiving her child’s healing. He said, “Let the children be fed first.” In other words, wait your turn. There is room at the table but not yet. Considering Jesus was tired and on holiday, this seems reasonable. Like mothers who have to fight authorities for the needs of their children throughout the world, the mother answered back and pleaded her case. “Sir or Lord, even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters table.” In those days people did not eat with a knife and fork but with their hands wiping their soiled hands on chunks of bread which they threw to the household dogs. She didn't demand to be treated as one of the children. She was saying, “I'm not asking for a seat at the table. My daughter is suffering. All I need from you is a crumb or two. I know that will do the job. But I'm going to need it right now.” Jesus loved her response. She is the only person in Mark’s gospel who calls him Lord. In contrast to his friends and family in Nazareth, where he couldn’t do many miracles because of their lack of faith, she would not accept no as an answer. Her faith was real and Jesus answered her prayer “For saying that, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.” She completely trusted Jesus even though her daughter was not with her and she had not seen the miracle. She exemplified faith. She clung on persistently against great odds. She made Jesus, a Jew, her Lord, trusting he would heal her daughter, even though she wasn’t a Jew. She believed he was more powerful than sickness, evil and demons, and she had a place at the table. There was bread enough for her daughter to be saved and healed. She prayed, persisted and worshipped. Jesus has broken down the boundaries that divide races and genders. All are welcome at Christ’s table who come for salvation and healing.
