There is a beautiful little story that is found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke that gives us a wonderful picture of Jesus.  In fact, many artists have painted this scene, and I’m sure all of you have seen at least one picture of Jesus with the children.  Let me read you Mark’s account of this, found in Mark 10.

             ¹³People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." ¹⁶And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.

          The disciples understand that Jesus is a man with a mission, and as his disciples, they have also taken on themselves his mission.  They understand that Jesus is a busy man who has miracles to perform, people to teach, water to walk on, and much, much more.  So on this particular day, when Jesus has been teaching the people, they notice something troublesome happening. 

          Perhaps it started when one or two parents had quietly brought their children forward to Jesus and asked him to bless them.  Maybe that was okay.  But now, it seems that every parent in the region has picked up on this, and they’re all crowding around and pushing and the kids are noisy and dirty.  The disciples realize this is going to totally interfere with the message Jesus is trying to teach.  How can anyone possibly hear him with all these noisy, rambunctious little kids all over the place?

          So the disciples decide to take care of the problem.  They start telling the people—quietly, but firmly—to keep their kids away, because Jesus is busy.

          Jesus noticed what they were doing and it says he was indignant.  He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

          I would venture to guess that many of you could have told this story, because it is very familiar.  But if you or I were telling this story from memory, we would probably say that Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them.”  But we tend to forget the rest of Jesus’ words. 

          Jesus actually makes two remarkable statements that we either don’t want to hear or aren’t quite sure how to understand.  Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

          Remarkable statement number one:  “the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”  And remarkable statement number two:  “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

          When Jesus refers to the children and says that the kingdom of God belongs to such as these, what does he mean?  Does he mean that only children will make it to heaven?  We know that can’t be possible.

          I think there are two meanings to this statement.  The first meaning is explained by remarkable statement number two:  “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

           We don’t receive the kingdom of God by becoming wise and mature and responsible or even religious adults.  Instead, we receive the kingdom of God by becoming vulnerable and childlike.  Regardless of how wise and mature and responsible and religious we have become in this world, when we see who God truly is, we realize we are unworthy in every way.  Compared to God, we are no more wise or capable than a newborn baby.  We realize we are sinners who are completely incapable of saving ourselves.  So we come to God as we truly are, as helpless children, totally dependent on him.  To come before God as children means to realize that we are completely unworthy in our own strength, and to accept salvation as a gift given by God’s grace.

          I believe there is a second meaning as well to Jesus’ words that “the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”  God has a special place in his heart for those people who are, for whatever reason, weak or needy.  They are the ones Jesus refers to as “the least of these brothers of mine.”

          You remember the story Jesus told of the King who said, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”  And when the righteous asked him “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”  And the answer the King gave was this:  “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”  (Matthew 25:34-40)

          That Jesus rebukes his disciples for trying to shoo the children away reminds us of how Jesus wants us to treat all those who we might call “the least of these.”  This begins with children, but it also extends to the homeless, the poor, the sick, those in prison.  It includes the physically and mentally handicapped, the mentally ill, and all others who are often pushed aside or ignored or even hated in our world.  If you read the Bible from cover to cover, you will see that God has a special love for all of “the least of these.”

          And if that is how God feels about them then that is also how we must treat them.

          The way we treat the weakest and most vulnerable among us is the truest test of our strength and our character.  If you are truly strong, with no doubt concerning your own strength, you have no need to bully the weakling.  If your character is true, you will refuse to take advantage of the one who is vulnerable.

          In a perfect world, all of us would have been born into families where we were cared for by loving parents who always treated us fairly and always modeled for us the very best and noblest behavior. 

          Proverbs tells us, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)  The reality is that good, loving treatment and training is not what every child receives.  It is heartbreaking to think of how many children in our world are abused by the very parents who should be the ones who love and cherish them.

           Even when we look at our own lives, we know that probably all of us, in some way or another, have suffered some form of abuse.  Even the most well-meaning parents sometimes say or do things that bruise the hearts of the tender little ones they love. 

          I remember when I was a young single adult living in an apartment in Minneapolis.  There was a woman on my floor who was a single mother with a two-year-old.  I remember often seeing or hearing them coming home in the evening, and this young mother always seemed to be yelling at her two-year-old, nagging and arguing rather loudly.  I remember how annoyed I was with that mother, and how harshly I judged her behavior.  I wondered why that mother couldn’t just grow up and act mature and treat that little girl better.

          Several years later, when I had my own two-year-old, I understood how easily a tired, cranky two-year-old can reduce an adult to the level of a two-year-old.  I thought about that woman in my apartment building and I repented of my critical, judgmental attitude towards that mother.  I hoped I didn’t sound too much like her when my patience with my own child wore thin.  I had a lot more compassion towards that mom, who worked all day to earn a living while her little girl was in daycare, and then came home to an empty apartment, tired and hungry herself, with a hungry, tired, cranky child.  I’m sorry that I never even spoke to her when she lived down the hall from me.  Maybe I could have been the hands and feet of Jesus to that struggling single mom.

          Jesus had time for the children.  Jesus, who had only three years of ministry in which to train the disciples who would spread his message to the rest of the world, still had time for the children.

          The honest truth is that when we are too busy for the children and too busy for what Jesus calls “the least of these,” we are too busy for Jesus himself.  The agendas and the “to do” lists that we come up with may seem very important to us, but in God’s kingdom, they just don’t matter.  Whatever important things we are doing just are not as important as loving the least of these.

          If Jesus loves the children and blesses them, even when he is busy, that’s what we also must do.  It’s not all that hard to love and bless the children who are our own.  Some of you are parents, grandparents, and aunts and uncles, and you know how easy it is to love these precious little ones—at least most of the time.  It is comforting to know how much Jesus also loves our children.

          But Jesus also calls us to love other children who are not as fortunate as our own, and maybe not as lovable as our own, because he loves them. 

          It’s not too difficult to love poor, needy children on the other side of the world, and give our money to help them.  And that is a very good, important thing for us to do.

          But God also calls us to love the children in our own community.  As a church, we need to keep this issue in front of ourselves and continue to pray about what God would have us do for the children here on Queen Anne.

          We are doing something quite important by opening our building to the groups that work with children here in our building during the week.  I believe this truly is a significant contribution to the children of this community.  We have two large preschools in our building Monday through Friday.  We also have a ballet teacher who holds her classes in our fellowship hall, and an art teacher who has occasional art classes for children upstairs.

          I believe we need to ask God to show us how we can do more to minister to these children and families.  As we look at them through the eyes of Jesus, who loves them and welcomes them, I think we will also learn to love them and welcome them.

          Jesus teaches us that if we prove ourselves faithful in a few things, he will entrust us with many more.  (Mt. 25:14-30)

          For a long time, we have had no children or young people in this church.  When I came, about three and a half years ago, I believe Jackie was the only person in this church under the age of about fifty, at least who was attending regularly.  Either that, or some of you are younger than you look!

          Today, we have a number of younger people and these precious children worshiping with us.  And what a wonderful gift they are!  I believe that God expects us to be truly faithful in ministering his love to them.  I also believe that as we are faithful, God will bless us with more children and young people.

          I remember a little poster I read when I had young children that always made me chuckle.  It had a picture of a harried young mother with her kids and it said, “God, give me the grace to endure my blessings!” 

          There is no question about it:  children and young people can sometimes be annoying and bothersome to older people.  But they are the future of our world, and more specifically, they are the future of this church.  It is absolutely essential that we hear what Jesus says about how we welcome children.

          Jesus welcomed the children to come to him, and he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.  We are, all of us, young or old, God’s children.  Our loving father opens his loving arms to each one of us and puts his loving hand on us and blesses us. 

Prayer:

Lord, we are so amazed by your love, that both comforts us and challenges us.  Help us to come to you as little children, knowing that in ourselves, we have nothing to offer you.  Yet you call us to come, and you invite us to accept your mercy and your love.  You wrap your loving arms around us and bless us.  Thank you.  God, may we in turn spread your love to those around us who need to know the healing, saving touch of Jesus in their lives.   Amen