Sermon
Mark 10:13-16
Let the Children Come to Me
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Mark 10:13-16
Let the Children Come to Me
I’d like to begin the sermon this morning by recognizing the outstanding work of the Early Childhood Sub-Committee. It was the Early Childhood Sub-Committee who petitioned the Session this spring to make a special effort to include children in worship.
As I was quick to say at the time, I didn’t put them up to it, but I couldn’t be more pleased. In 1977, I began working on a Doctor of Ministry degree with the focus of exploring the place and role of children in the church. I completed the degree in 1981, and my dissertation was published under the title, The Children, Yes! From 1981 to 1988, I conducted a number of workshops around the country on children in worship. I believe we all benefit from having children participate in worship, and so, I commend the Early Childhood Sub-Committee for raising our consciousness and the Session for concurring with their recommendation. Now, it’s up to all of us to make it work.
The gospel lesson gives us a firm foundation for what we’re about. Folks were bringing children to Jesus, that he might lay his hands on them and bless them. The disciples were offended. “Don’t bother the Teacher,” we can almost hear them say, “He has more important things to do. Don’t waste his time.” But, according to Mark,
“But when Jesus saw it (what the disciples were doing), he was moved with indignation, and said to them,‘Allow the little children to come to me! Don’t forbid them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.'” (Mark 10:14)
And so, we have a clear mandate to make a place for the children in the presence of Jesus, to include them in every aspect of the family of faith, to help them grow in the knowledge of God’s claim on their lives and to learn from them as we share with them the Good News of God’s love. As the text echoes in our minds and hearts this morning, I’d like to offer three fundamental reasons why I think it’s critical for us to do everything within our power to reach the children and invite them into the presence of Jesus Christ. The first is this:
Children comprise one of the largest groups of the unchurched population in the community today. There are more children at home on any given Sunday morning than at Sunday School and church.
A few years ago in Wichita Falls, I participated in a study in which we found that, according to figures submitted to us by the Wichita Falls Independent School District and the County Bureau of Vital Statistics, there were approximately 17,500 children, ages birth to twelve years old, living in Wichita Falls. We conducted a survey of the churches in the community and found that there were as many as 6,500 children in Sunday school and/or church on any given Sunday morning. That’s 37%. I don’t have the current statistics for Brazos County, but I think you’ll find this is a pretty accurate picture of this area as well. For example, here at First Presbyterian Church, we have 115 children on the roll, ages birth to twelve years and 72 enrolled in Sunday School. As of last fall, we showed an average attendance of 31. That’s 43% of those enrolled and only 27% of the total number of children we have to work with.
If the church is to take seriously Jesus’ invitation, “Allow the little children to come to me,” we simply must take a more aggressive role in reaching the children who are not here on Sunday morning.
The plight of children is especially critical because most adults who don’t go to church typically have grown up in the church and have at least a rudimentary understanding of the Christian faith. They may not practice religion formally, but they have a working knowledge of the faith in their lives to draw on in times of need. They may recite the Lord’s Prayer, for example, or say a simple prayer. They may know a few verses of scripture by memory, a stanza of a favorite hymn or the gist of a Bible story like David and Goliath. But children who are not being exposed to the church on a regular basis don’t have these core teachings to lean on. They don’t have the benefit of knowing God’s presence in their lives, of being able to rely on a power greater than themselves. Their self-image and world outlook are basically secular.
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A few years ago the church I was serving planned a whole day of activities for the children of the neighborhood to help them prepare for Christmas. We provided craft materials for the children to make Christmas gifts and, of course, we served refreshments and played games. As Pastor, my job was to tell the children the Christmas story from the Bible:
“Now it happened in those days, that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.” (See Luke 2:1-20)
When the time came, I sat on the floor with the children and got to know their names. We sang a couple of songs and said a prayer, and then I asked, “Does anyone already know the Christmas story?” A little girl raised her hand and started reciting,
“Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.”
Well, she didn’t mean any disrespect. For her, that was the Christmas story. It was all she knew. Her Christmas, and the Christmas of most of the other children sitting there, had nothing to do with the birth of Jesus, but with Santa and his reindeer.
Children comprise one of the largest groups of the unchurched population in the community; yet, they’re largely unaware of God’s presence in their lives. And the tragedy of it all is the second point I’d like to make and that is,
The children’s lack of faith is not their fault; it’s a choice their parents are making. The children are only doing what they’re told – or not told – to do.
In some cases, this is not intentional. Some parents are simply lax in their attitude toward the church, and they’re not aware of the long-range effects it’s certain to have on the children. They’re not hostile toward the church, they’re just apathetic. They’re comfortable with their lifestyles and don’t want to be bothered.
They’re what I like to call the “happy heathens.” They just want to be left alone on Sunday morning to sleep in or read the paper or watch T. V. Other parents are more intentional. They believe they should let the children decide for themselves: “Honey, do you want to go to Sunday School this morning?
Do I have to? Not if don’t want to; it’s up to you.” It’s part of a larger pattern we call, “permissive parenting.” They want the children to select the clothes they wear, the food they eat and the way they spend their free time. Instead of disciplining the children, they want them to learn from their own mistakes. Erma Bombeck once wrote about her brief soiree into the world of permissive parenting. She said,
“My youngest son loved picking out his own clothes. No more of this silly color coordination for him. No more hassle with keeping up with belts, shoe laces or matching socks. Clothes, for him, were for comfort, not appearance. As I watched him go out the back door at the end of the first week, I thought to myself, all he needs is a half-pint of cheap wine in his hip pocket and his attire will be complete! That’s when I said, ‘Enough is enough!'”
Psychologists tell us that the bulk of a child’s personality is formed by the time he/she is five years old. Think about it – before the child starts school, essential character traits are already established and patterns of behavior are pretty well set.
Isn’t it obvious that religious formation follows suit? Children’s patterns of faith, for better or worse, are shaped at a very early age, long before they can articulate what they believe and why. This is the wisdom of the old proverb that says,
“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)
Knowing what we know about child development, it’s all the more important for parents to decide early on, even before their children are born, to rear their children in the church and to give them the benefit of religious training, to undergird their lives with the knowledge of a power greater than themselves until they are mature enough to confirm their faith for themselves. Children depend on their parents to make good choices for them in all matters of life, and so, it’s up to us, the church, to do everything we can to encourage parents to choose wisely on behalf of their children and their relationship to God. But, lest we take the admonition lightly, we need to remember the third important truth concerning the plight of children, and that is, In the Bible, God shows particular favor to the least, and children are among the least of those in our society.
In the language of the New Testament, there are two words commonly used for children. One is “tekna” which refers both to offspring and to the children of God.
The other is “mikrone” which is often translated “little ones,” as in Matthew 10:42,
“Whoever gives one of these little ones just a cup of cold water to drink
in the name of a disciple,
most certainly I tell you he will in no way lose his reward.”
Mikrone speaks of the whole range of those who occupy the lower rungs of the social ladder – the poor, the lame, the outcast, the stranger and the children. And the Bible makes it clear, God takes a special interest in seeing that these little ones are given ample protection and care, so that for us to show hospitality to the stranger, compassion for the cripple, generosity to the beggar, concern for the children is to be on the side of God and to gain God’s richest blessings. Jesus went so far as to say,
“The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you,
inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,
you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:40)
When we reach out to the children around us and make a special place for them in the church, we reap the benefits of God’s blessing on ourselves and on our congregation.
Eleanor Clarke was a retired nurse in Nashville, Tennessee. She’d lived alone most of her life and was used to being in control of her surroundings. She liked order and discipline, but everywhere she turned lately, it seemed, things were falling apart, and there wasn’t much she could do about it. She came to the early service of Holy Communion and sat on a pew by herself. Becky, a bright and beautiful 5-yearold, came in at the last minute with her father, Henry. They stopped at Eleanor’s pew. Reluctantly, Eleanor moved over, and they slipped in and sat beside her. I wasn’t sure what had happened, but at one point in the service, I noticed that Eleanor was crying. Then I noticed, when the congregation got up to leave, she was smiling, almost laughing out loud. Later that week that Eleanor called and told me what had happened. She said, “Did you see that child that sat beside me in church Sunday?” I said, “Yes.” And she said, “For no reason at all, that sweet child reached over and put her hand on mine, and when the service was over, she said, ‘I enjoyed sitting by you today.'” Eleanor said, “She’ll never know what that meant to this old woman.”
When children are in Sunday school and church, we all stand to gain. They enliven us and remind us what it means to be children of God. They bring out the child in us and help us to express our feelings, to loosen up and become more spontaneous. Children help us to let go of our pretenses and be ourselves, plain and simple, before God and each other. They help complete the family circle.
Well, here’s the problem: Jesus said, “Allow the little children to come to me,” but that’s not going to happen if we sit back passively and wait for them to show up on our doorstep. We have to take the initiative, to be proactive. And so, I’d like to end the sermon today with a challenge. I’d like to challenge each of you to think of a child or two you can invite to come to church with you next Sunday. Some of you, that’ll be easy. You have children or grandchildren living close by. For others, you’ll be more imaginative. You may have to borrow a kid from your neighbor or your maid.
You’ll have to talk with their parents first, of course, and get their permission.
Don’t be surprised if they say yes! You’ll also need to think ahead. Children who haven’t been in church much are going to need some help knowing what’s going on and what’s expected of them, when to stand up and sit down, how to behave. You’ll be surprised how quickly they’ll catch on. When you consider the big picture, what greater contribution could you possibly make in your lifetime than to bring a child into a lasting relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ? Here’s the gist of it all: There are a lot of unchurched children here in Bryan- College Station, and it’s not their fault. They’re victims of circumstances beyond their control. Yet, God is on their side, and God calls us to do what we can to bring them into his presence. To do so is to be faithful to our calling and to open the door to a lasting relationship with Jesus Christ. Will Willimon, chaplain of Duke University, said it best when he wrote,
“Sometimes it seems as if the older I become the less I understand about the mystery of God’s loving presence in our midst. Do not ask me, adult though I may be, why God loves wayward children like us, how even so diverse a group of people as we are formed into one body, why ‘when two or three are gathered together,’ there he is also…but this I know: These deep, sacred experiences came first to me when I was a little child, fruits of life begun in a loving, embracing family at home and at church. My encounters with God began first by being included in the church’s worship, by being invited to the church’s table, by being claimed at the church’s font. Admittedly, over the years, the meaning of these early experiences has deepened for me. But, as an adult, I must never forget how they began, and I must seek ways to make them available for little ones who come after me.” (“Keep Them in Their Place?” Worship Alive, Discipleship Resources, undated.)
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Copyright 2002, Philip W. McLarty. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), a public domain (no copyright) modern English translation of the Holy Bible.