Rev. David Boyd

Among the many things we could say about Mark's story of Jesus, the 12 disciples and the little child, we can say that it is a brilliant piece of psychology. What we know about the disciples from the gospel stories is that they often didn't get what Jesus was teaching; they often just didn't understand. I'm sure that the stories paint the disciples a bit negatively so that the gospel writers have an opportunity to explain what Jesus was doing, but the basic point that they weren't completely sure what Jesus was about is probably true. But the in the story that we hear today, I think that Jesus acts brilliantly.

Who's to know what was in Jesus' mind as he gathered with his disciples that day. He knew that they had been arguing. He likely knew what it was about. Jesus was pretty sharp and I'm sure he had a pretty good idea what was going on in the minds of those about him. But instead of lecturing them about what is appropriate or inappropriate behaviour, what to believe or not believe, or how to be with one another, he said that the first must be last and servant of all. And then to make his point, he scooped up a small child, held the child to his breast and said, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the One who sent me." It is easiest to learn when we're given a concrete example, when we're affirmed (even though we might justifiably be chastised), when we are shown love and compassion, and when we're invited into a holy moment of holy significant and holy presence. The disciples get the point. We get the point. As I said, it is a moment of brilliant psychology.

We tend to romanticize this event and speculate about the innocence of children; or we go on about the trusting nature of children. Or we tend to generalize about the apparent child-like wonder that children have. All of these things may be true, but I'm not sure that they were foremost in Jesus' mind at the time. I believe that Jesus loved childrenÑhe loved all people at all stages and ages of life. But children in Jesus' day and age were not well accepted. In fact, they were not legal persons until they reached the age of adulthood. Jesus' teaching, then, was all about welcoming those of no standing as if they were the Christ, as if they were Jesus, embodiment of the One who had sent him. We are to hold and welcome those of no standing, those of no status as if they were the most important person on earth, as indeed they all are. Mother Theresa embodied this welcome so well on the streets of Calcutta, embracing the untouchables, the downtrodden, the sick, the lonely and those of no account. She lived the life of St. Francis of Assisi who, as a follower of Jesus, created the mould for how to welcome others equally. Glenn Mitchell in the September 8th, 2009 edition of The Christian Century magazine tells a story about Francis. Francis borrowed his father's horse and loaded it with expensive fabric—his father dealt in expensive fabrics—and selling the fabric and giving the proceeds to the poor. His father, angered by this, dragged Francis before the bishop in the public square of the town of Assisi and demanded that Francis give back all that he had stolen. Francis then took off his clothes, folded them neatly and laid them before his father and said, "From now on, I can walk naked before God, no longer saying, Ômy father Pietro Bernardone," but "Our Father who art in heaven..." To embrace those of no standing or status costs us something. Glenn Mitchell's headline in The Century shouted out at me this week, "Scooping up a child requires letting go of whatever we're holding." This is very true both literally and figuratively. When a child demands our attention, we can't be holding on to something else. In order to give attention to a child, especially an infant, we can't have our attention focused elsewhere. This perhaps is another insight of Jesus' in his teaching to the disciples. In order to pick up a child and welcome a child, you need to let go of your expectations, your pretentions, your desires, and your wants. You need to let go of your selfishness and stand naked before God. We need to give full attention to God's dreams for the world, for God's mending of creation, and for the re-creation of life and love. It's a rather daunting thing to do, standing naked before God. We are completely open: our faults, our beauty, our fragility, our humanity. It's hard to be this vulnerable. And yet it is in this vulnerability that we experience the deep grace of God's love. It is when we are cracked open that we know what it is to be changed and blessed with new life. When we find the courage to strip away the barriers, the walls, the facades, the false selves that we erect to protect ourselves, we will know sheer grace, sheer love, and sheer peace.

The other headline that jumped out at me was from an email newsletter that I get from David Allen. Allen has developed some ways and theories for helping us live more productively at work and in our lives. He offers lots of good insights. Well, the headline was "are you over- or under-reacting?" I received this email at a moment when I was over-reacting to a group of emails that I'd received from people in Creston. I'm the supervisor of the United Church in Creston for a time as they try to find a new minister. They are experiencing some challenges and I was wondering what I'd got myself into when David Allen's email newsletter arrived.

Allen described a process that he's found helpful; he has invited us to have what he calls "a mind like water." This enables us to clear our heads, create and respond freely, focus on the things we need to accomplish. He invites us to imagine what happens when we throw a stone into a pond that is absolutely still. The water responds perfectly to the stone's weight, the force of the throw, the trajectory and velocity and so on, and then the pond returns to stillness. Allen then likens this mind like water to tai chi and how this ancient Chinese art can transform our minds and spirits and enable us to neither over- or under-react. We learn to react appropriately.

Somehow for me, Jesus scooping up a child is akin to responding appropriately in the moment. A young child demands our attention and we can't be focused elsewhere. It awakens in us a sense of nurturing—just ask any of our new grandparents in this congregation! I also think that it leads us to reprioritize what is important in our lives. Is it so important to be first and foremost? Is it so important to win the argument? With a child nestled in our arms, these things don't seem so important anymore.

I'm also conscious that tomorrow is the United Nations International Day of Peace. All of what I've said and all that Jesus has taught could be a recipe for world peace. Imagine our world leaders scooping up children, letting go of wants, expectations, and desires and focusing in the moment on the immediate needs of that child. Imagine world leaders setting aside the need to be first and seeking to serve others. Imagine a world where we embrace the outcast and "the other" as brother or sister. These are not far-fetched concepts; David Allen believes in these simple ideas; Mother Theresa did, as did St. Francis of Assisi before her. And Jesus embodied these changes in our perspective and our thinking that can lead to real change in our world and lasting peace with justice.

The next chance you get, scoop up a child and hold him or her close. Or when you're standing by a pool, toss in a stone and watch the ripples. In these simple things we can find peace and the courage to create peace in our world. We can found the new energy to be the Christ in welcoming those of no standing... for we all have standing in God's eyes.

Let us pray:

O God, make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Lover, grant that we may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.