April 13, 2008
Rev. Kip Gilts

                                          "Fulfilling the Vision"
                                  The Vision Clarified
                                           Mark 10:13-16

            Have you ever taken a test where you are not sure how well you did?  I have that happen a lot, especially at the eye doctor’s office.  First, I have to read the chart on a wall with one eye tied behind my back, or at least a card.  Then I have to take the “this one or this one” test – which is a killer.  The doctor keeps rotating lenses in front of my eye and asking, “Which one is clearer – this one or this one?”  It has been years since I walked out of the eye doctor’s office with the sense that I nailed that test.

            I enjoy reading the gospels and seeing the disciples’ responses to Jesus.  It often seems like they are taking the “this one or this one” test.  Just about the time that they think they have it figured out and the vision is clear, Jesus shows them another lens.  That’s what happened in Mark 10.  Jesus had just talked about the demands of discipleship and his followers are clear about what Christ expects.  So when people tried to pester Jesus by bringing little kids by, the disciples spoke sharply to them.  Jesus then clarified the vision.  Listen to this brief passage in Mark 10:13-16.  Hear now the Word of the Lord:
 

The Word of God for the people of God.  Thanks be to God.  In this passage Mark reported to his readers the value that Jesus placed on children.  Today is Parents’ Weekend and the second Sunday in our five-week series entitled, “Fulfilling the Vision”.  The message for our parents, our students, and our members is the same.  When clarifying our vision we must be able to see the kids.  

The Church Includes Children.

The disciples could not see the children or at least could not see the personage of the children.  Instead they saw them as a drain upon the Messiah’s time, which Jesus had assured them, was in limited supply.  He knew he was going to Jerusalem to endure hardships and be crucified.  So the disciples saw Jesus’ time not including contact with those too young to make responsible decisions.  In fact, Mark tells us that the disciples spoke sternly to them.  That’s when Jesus clarified their vision.  Mark 10:14 is the only place in scriptures where Jesus is said to have been indignant.  This is a strong word capturing both the feeling of hurt and anger.  He was both pained and peeved at the disciples mistreatment of the children.  Eugene Peterson paraphrased verse 14 in The Message with these words, “But Jesus was irate and let them know it: ‘Don't push these children away. Don't ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom.’” It was crucial that the disciples stop their old ways and see what Jesus could see – that no one is unimportant in the kingdom of God.  That includes children.

Last Friday night we had over one thousand United Methodists attending a Houston Astros baseball game.  In attendance were two of my friends that I have known since junior high school.  In fact, they invited me to go to church with them about 38 years ago and at that church I became a Christian.  I looked down the aisle from us at Minute Maid Park and saw three teenage boys sitting next to each other.  They were my son and two of his friends.  Looking at them I remembered the three of us at that church in Findlay, Ohio.  Those two friends of mine invited me to their church, prayed for me that I would become a Christian, and guided me through a very rough transition into church.  That church was incredible.  I am glad that they had a place for a kid whose parents did not attend and who had little respect for others.  George MacDonald, an inspirational author of the 19^th century, once said that he did not believe in a person’s Christianity if children were never to be found playing near that person’s door.  I have the same feeling about a church. 

Fulfilling the Vision is a capital campaign for our church, but it is more than that.  Fulfilling the Vision is an opportunity for us to remember who we are as a church.  89 years ago the Reverend Preston Taylor Ramsey recommended that First Methodist Church of Bryan, Texas use the $500 it had in surplus toward the end of 1919 to begin a new missionary-like church for the students and staff of Texas A&M College.  This church began with a vision of the kids, college kids, having a place to worship and getting involved in Christian service. Today as we seek to clarify our vision I want us to remember, when clarifying our vision we must be able to see the kids.

The Church Imitates Children. 

            Jesus told his followers that one of the key qualifications is to receive the kingdom of God as a little child would receive it.  He seems to be saying that the one qualification is that you have no qualifications.  That is what it is like to be a little child.  You cannot claim to have earned a place in the kingdom, or to have reached such a lofty state of spirituality that you simply waltz in like you belong.  There is no sense of entitlement. You must become as a little child.  William Barclay listed the childlike characteristics as humility, a tendency to obedience, trust, and a short memory when it comes to grudges.  He must have had some extraordinary children to write that. But I think there is something more.  There is a balance that a child usually has in his or her life – a balance between playfulness and seriousness.  Erik Erickson once wrote about his theory on psychosocial development, “You are encouraged to take this with a playful seriousness and a serious playfulness.”

            This past week when I was meeting my boyhood friend for supper I was giving him directions over the phone, inserting a few adolescent insults.  When I hung up Tammy said, “You are a totally different person when you are around him.” Then she said something that caught me by surprise.  She said, “I like it.”  I realized then that I have not been imitating children for a long time.  It is easy to get caught up in our self-imposed busyness and lose that balance.  Fulfilling the Vision is a monumental step for this church as we seek to grow ministries and improve our facilities.  It is possible, however, with all the talk of a new roof, an Air Conditioning and Heating system for the 21^st century, an elevator for access, a pedestrian mall, and restroom upgrades, to get blurred in our vision.  We can actually work so hard for the kingdom that we lose sight of the kingdom.  Neither this campaign nor this church is about bricks, mortar, shingles, and electricity.  When clarifying our vision we must be able to see the kids.

The Church Embraces Children. 

            The last verse of this short passage is such an extraordinary verse.  It seems to introduce the crook of Jesus’ arm.  Jesus was not content to have scolded the disciples and clarified their vision of the kingdom of God.  He was not through when he taught his hearers that the kingdom of God requires a childlike reception.  Mark then painted for his readers the sweeping image of Jesus taking each child in his arms, laying their head in the crook of his arm, and pronouncing upon each of them a unique blessing.  Do you ever wonder what Jesus said to those children?  Each child lifted into is lap, their head resting on the crook of his arm, his eyes gazing into each one of the children.  Do you ever wonder what he said?

I remember teaching a confirmation class years ago. We were talking about the importance of blessing, especially the Father’s blessing. I described it as one’s father coming up to the child, looking that child in the eye and saying, “I love you. I’m proud of you. I love your sense of humor, your heart for God, your help around the house, your smile. There is so much about you that makes my heart full.”

One of the confirmands sank down in her chair and said, “My dad will never say that to me.” It broke my heart to hear her say that.  I looked at her and thought, “You will never be satisfied until you get the blessing. You will always search for it.”

I often wonder what Jesus said to those children.  What kind of a blessing did he give to each of them? 

Come with me for a moment.  It won’t take too long.  Step into my Bible and back into time, right here on page 46 of the New Testament.  Make your way through the crowd, take the wide path around the animals, come into the house where Jesus is holding the children.  Come closer – close enough to see the face of Jesus and the face of the child.  Can you see yourself, a child of God?

Do you ever wonder what the savior spoke to each of those children? You are a child of God.  As Jesus looks you right in the eyes what does he say to you? When clarifying our vision we must be able to see the kids.  Amen.