Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alelluia!
Let us pray:
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of (our) heart(s) be
acceptable in your sight, O LORD, (our) rock and (our) redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).
In the name of Jesus.
Over the
course of the last two years of instruction, the two boys who sit here this
morning, on the cusp of being Confirmed, and then receiving the body of blood
of Jesus in The Sacrament of the Altar for the first time have completed: 49
different memory work assignments, 46 different vocabulary quizes including 204
vocabulary terms, more than 36 sermon summaries, 6 major tests, they have each
compiled personal prayer books consisting of an order of devotion, prayers,
passages for important subjects, and favorite hymns, and last week, while
sitting with the Chairman of the Board of Elders, their parents, and their
pastor, they each successfully confessed the Christian faith in an oral
examination.
Later on, during the reception in
the Fellowship Hall—which you are all encouraged to attend—they will be presented
with certain gifts, congratulatory remarks will be made, their Confirmation
Certificates will be handed to them, and we’ll be able to say that all of that
is a result of a job well-done. This
morning, Christopher and Eli, I am proud of you, your parents are proud of you,
and your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ that are here today are also
proud of you. This is a big day; you’re
wearing suits, after all! And all of
this might tempt you—and the rest of us—to believe that the Kingdom of God,
grace, forgiveness, salvation, and even the body and blood of Jesus are things
that can be earned.
Thankfully,
we have this passage from the Gospel of St. Luke to remind us otherwise. Thankfully, we have the words of Jesus Christ
himself, to remind you—and all of us—that the Kingdom of God, grace,
forgiveness, salvation and even the body and blood of Jesus are not things we
earn, but are things we receive by faith, as gifts from God himself.
Now they were bringing even infants to him.
If you’ve heard this story
before, you’re probably more familiar with how Matthew and Mark tell the
story. Both of them simply say that
children were being brought to Jesus. And
so, it is quite likely, that when you’ve pictured these events in your mind’s
eye, you’ve pictured children gathered around the feet of Jesus, much like
children gather of the children’s message.
You know, children.
Four-year-olds; six-year-olds; eight-year-olds; even ten-year-olds and
above. But when Luke tells the very same
story, he gets a bit more specific; he helps us understand just what kind of
children were being brought to Jesus. You
see, Luke uses the Greek word bre,foj, which means an infant baby. So what is happening is that parents were
bringing their infant babies to Jesus so that he might touch them.
And the disciples saw what was
happening, and they rebuked the parents—they tried to stop the parents—because,
for some reason, the disciples had this strange idea that those infant babies
weren’t the sort of people that should be brought to Jesus.
It could
have been that the disciples had fallen into the trap of thinking that the
Kingdom of God was for those who could achieve some sort of intellectual
qualification—you know: learning enough—and since infant babies didn’t have
that sort of intellectual development yet, those parents shouldn’t bother
bringing them to Jesus.
It could
have been that the disciples saw more important people standing around and
thought that Jesus shouldn’t be wasting His time with those infant babies. I mean, this story takes place in the context
of a chapter in which Jesus is speaking to Pharisees, and in the very next
verse, a ruling leader of the synagogue who was also very rich asked Jesus a
question. Maybe the disciples had been
tempted to believe that the Kingdom of God was for those who were prestigious,
or wealthy, or held in high regard by the community.
We really
don’t know for sure, why the disciples were rebuking the parents; why they were
trying to keep the parents from bringing their infant babies to Jesus so that
the one who had been sent to save and redeem the entire world might touch them
and bless them. But whatever reason the
disciples might have had, really doesn’t matter. Whatever their reason; however well-intentioned
it may have been; their actions are unacceptable to Jesus. By rebuking those parents, and attempting to
stop them from bringing their infant babies to Jesus, they were not working for
the Kingdom of God, but had begun working against it. They were trying to keep those infant babies
from the one who was there for them.
They were keeping them from Jesus.
Of course,
we have done the same. Maybe you haven’t
stood outside the Church with bats and chains, and threatened to chase away
anybody who would dare to bring their children to Church, but those soccer
games, or baseball games, or other activities that society, or other parents,
or our children’ friends have decided are so important have definitely been
allowed by us to keep our children from coming, and hearing, and being touched,
and blessed, by the voice of Jesus.
We lament
the loss of children in our churches, but in our failure to rebuke that which
would keep our children from coming to Jesus, and being blessed by Jesus, we
have contributed to the problem.
I’m not
saying this is easy. I’m not saying this
is fun. Who wants to be mocked by
coaches who can’t understand why you would remember the Sabbath day and keep it
set apart, and holy, and make sure that it was the day on which your children would
be brought to Jesus to be blessed by Jesus?
Fellow parents or coaches look at you, with a sort of puzzled, surprised
look, and say something like, “Don’t you understand that your child will be
fine if he misses church a few times, but that his team really needs him?”
And what child enjoys having his
or her friends make fun of them for having to miss a game, or a practice, or a
concert, or leave a sleepover a bit early because you’re one of those “Church
people”?
It’s not fun to say “no” to that
which would keep your child from being brought to Jesus. And it can be quite a burden when it is your
own child who is the one putting up the fight, and who can’t seem to understand
why you would be so mean. I’m not saying
this is fun, or that it’s easy, or that the other parents, or coaches, or dance
instructors will even understand and encourage you. I’m simply saying that we have done the same
as the disciples in our text. We have
done what Jesus says in unacceptable.
They were stopping parents from bringing
infant babies to Jesus, so that He might touch them and bless them. And in our failure to remember the Sabbath
Day and keep it holy; in our inability to say no to a host of things that keep
our children from coming to the Lord’s House on the Lord’s Day; by our failure
to make sure that we would rebuke anything that would keep our children from
being brought to Jesus, to be touched by Jesus, and blessed by Jesus, through
the Word of Jesus, we have sinned, and fallen short of our calling as Christian
parents, and grandparents, and even as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
I’ve never seen an infant, driving
himself to Church on Sunday. And I’ve
never seen a baby open up the Bible and read for himself about the cross and
empty tomb. And I’ve never seen one of
those tiny little ones bring himself to the Communion Rail to receive the body
and blood of Jesus. You see, the point
that Luke wants us to get, and the reason Jesus rebukes the disciples for trying
to keep those babies from being brought to Jesus; and the reason you and I need
to think about what we have allowed to keep our children from being touched and
blessed by the Word of Jesus, is because these little ones cannot bring
themselves. They’re helpless. That’s why, the Lord gave them parents, right? So that the parents could give to those
little ones what those little ones need.
And what those little ones need more than anything else in the world, is
Jesus.
But here’s the thing. Jesus say
that the Kingdom of God, with all its blessings of grace, and forgiveness, and
salvation, is a kingdom that belongs even to infant babies. And then he adds these words: Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God
like a child shall not enter it. In
other words, His desire is for all of you to be like a baby. Whether you’re two-months old, two-years old,
twenty-two, fifty-two, or ninety-two, Jesus says that the only way for you to
enter His Father’s Kingdom, is to be like a baby.
But not just any baby; a baby that
is brought to Jesus. The kingdom of God
belongs to all, who like a baby, depend on Jesus, and need Jesus, and cry out
for Jesus, and joyfully receive the help that comes from Jesus when he touches
you, and blesses you, and with His Word, gives you everything that you need. Like a baby that cannot live without its
mother’s milk, unless you receive the blessing of Jesus in the Word of Jesus
you cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Truly, truly, I say to you, the kingdom of God belongs to babies of all
ages who, by faith, confess their sin, and are completely dependent on the
blessings which come from God because of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
You see, the truth is, Christopher
and Eli didn’t always know all their memory work; and they didn’t get perfect
scores on their vocabulary quizzes, and I know that there were times when they
didn’t want to be there, and would rather have been sleeping, or playing video
games, or doing something but sitting and studying the Word of God. And if the Kingdom of God were something to
be earned, all of that would disqualify them, as much as our own failings would
disqualify us.
But the kingdom of God belongs to
such as these. The Kingdom of God
belongs to those, like Christopher and Eli, who week after week, and year after
year, have lived like babies; babies who have been brought to Jesus so that he
might touch them with His teaching, and blessing them with His Gospel, which
the Holy Spirit uses to strengthen and keep them in the one true faith. And this is not the result of works; it is a
gift of God. Given through the Gospel,
and received by those, who have learned, like babies, to depend on Jesus.
Christopher and Eli haven’t earned
the Kingdom of God; they’ve been given the Kingdom of God. That’s why we’re here to celebrate. Because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as
these, who have learned to see their failures and faults not as a reason to be
damned, but as the reason they are desperate to be brought to Jesus. Because the Kingdom of God belongs to all of
us who have fallen short of the glory of God, and like the disciples, have made
foolish choices that have, at times, even kept our children from being brought
to Jesus. As parents, and grandparents,
and as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, we have sinned; we have fallen
short of the glory of God. Which is why
today’s Holy Gospel is such Good News, not only to Christopher and Eli, but to
all of us. Because it means that you are
just the kind of person to whom the Kingdom of God belongs. You are a person, who is helpless to do
anything for yourself, and must, by faith, simply depend on the grace and mercy
of God in Christ Jesus.
Sure, today marks the end of Christopher
and Eli having to take vocabulary quizzes, and learn memory work; and maybe
there is something to celebrate in being done with all of that. But today, by His Word, Jesus has taught us
all to believe, and to rejoice, that these two teenage boys, will have no
problem being called babies.
And after hearing Jesus’ Word,
maybe you won’t either. Maybe you, and
I, and Christopher and Eli, and everyone here today, regardless of your age, or
your understanding, or your experience in the Church, will believe, that like a
baby who depends on his mother’s milk, you depend on Jesus. For if that is the faith you confess, then I
can say, without a doubt: to you, belongs the Kingdom of God. And the kingdom is yours as a gift which is
given in the teaching, and preaching of the death and resurrection of
Jesus. Which is why, I pray, no matter
what might try to keep you away, you’ll never stop coming to be touched, and
blessed, and fed, and forgiven by Jesus.
For that is how you will live, not only today, but in the Kingdom of
God, forever. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.
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