“What does It Mean to have the ‘Faith of a Little Child?’”

            We are in a transitional period at my church, Christ United Methodist Church.  Last week, we concluded our winter series on the “Upside Down Church.”  When we move into the Lenten Season in a few weeks, we will explore Jesus’ “Farewell Discourse” in the Gospel of John.  However, for this Sunday, February 24th, we will celebrate our children and youth and welcome Heleena Tapp as our new Youth Director.  My proclamation, as we celebrate children and youth, will be based on Mark 10:13-16:

“People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.  Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.”

            There is a temptation to interpret this passage through the lens of the twenty-first century, instead of understanding its historical context.  In modern American culture, children are cherished and celebrated as treasures from God.  Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, neighbors and friends, all practically fawn over the children and youth in our midst.  We spend copious amounts of time, money, and energy to support our children in club sports, dance and music lessons; Scouts and 4-H clubs, and a host of other clubs.  If our children are struggling in school, we gladly pay for private tutors to help them succeed academically.  We love our children and we make major investments in them as they grow into maturity.

            This was not the attitude toward children at the time of Jesus.  Instead, children were practically “non-persons” in ancient Jewish and pagan societies.  Children had no status; no power.  They were perceived as having no knowledge; nothing to contribute to their families or society.  As Biblical scholar Pheme Perkins observes, “The child in antiquity was radically dependent upon the pater familias.  The father decided whether the child would even be accepted into the family.  Children belonged to their father and remained subject to his authority even as adults.”[i]  Children were completely dependent upon their families, especially their fathers.

            Thus, to fully comprehend and appreciate Jesus’ meaning, we need to interpret this passage with a clear vision of the historical context.  In essence, Jesus teaches us that in order to receive the Kingdom of God—and personal salvation—we must utterly trust in God.  We must go “all in.”  Of course, this is not easy for adults.  We tend to “hedge our bets,” rather than going “all in” and fully, completely, radically trusting God.  Most of us have a natural tendency to prefer trusting in ourselves and our own abilities, rather than something external—even God.  We prefer to rely upon our own ingenuity, creativity, perseverance, and accomplishments, rather than placing our trust outside of ourselves.

            Yet, Jesus is clear in this periscope that Christian faith requires a total, unflinching trust in God and God’s providence. 

            Pheme Perkins, the Biblical scholar, also notes that by inviting and including the children, Jesus was also making it possible for the women who were present to listen to his teachings, just as the men.  Normally when a rabbi taught, only men were allowed to sit around him and listen.  In the patriarchal Jewish society, women were considered subordinate and intellectually inferior to men.  So, women were relegated to domestic work and childcare.  But, as Dr. Perkins observes, “Including the children also made it possible for the women who had the responsibility of caring for them to [also] hear Jesus’ teaching.”[ii]

If you live in the Lincoln, Nebraska area and do not have a place to worship, then I invite you to come and join us at Christ United Methodist Church this Sunday, February 24th, as we celebrate our children and youth. 

Christ UMC is located at 4530 “A” Street.  We have three worship services on Sunday mornings at 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00.  The 8:30 and 11:00 services feature a traditional worship format and the services are held in our Sanctuary.  “The Gathering” at 9:45 is held in our Family Life Center (gym), and it is more informal and interactive.   

Come, join us.  Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.

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[i] Pheme Perkins, The Gospel of Mark in The New Interpreter’s Bible, volume 8, 2003.

[ii] Ibid.

“The Burden of Discipleship”

            This Sunday, February 17th, I will conclude my sermon series, “An Upside-Down Church.”  This series was based upon my realization last fall, that—when we look at the ministry and teachings of Jesus from the perspective of faithful Jews in the first century—he was someone who came in and turned everything upside-down.  Everything that they had known and believed about God and about being a faithful Jew was turned upside-down by Jesus.   

            In reflecting on this insight, I began to ask myself what Jesus’ propensity to turn things upside-down might mean for the Christian faith and the Church in the 21st century?  That is to say, if Jesus were to physically appear today, how might he turn his own Church upside-down?  Reflecting on this question lead me to a slightly different perspective:  Given that we are called as Christians to be followers of Christ, perhaps Jesus expects his disciples to turn the church upside down, all by ourselves. 

            I want to conclude this series by reflecting upon a common criticism that Christians “are just a bunch of hypocrites.”  To ground our reflections this week, I have chosen selections from Matthew 23:

“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. …

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth. So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”                ~ Matthew 232: 1-7, 23-28

In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 23 forms part of a longer unit, comprised of chapters 23-25.  These chapters form the fifth of five major discourses by Jesus.  At the beginning of chapter 23, Jesus turns to address his disciples and other followers.  His teaching provides a warning to his followers against hypocrisy. 

In his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Eugene Boring explains that for Jesus hypocrisy was more than just phoniness.  In addition, hypocrisy occurs when the individual person places excessive value on the way he or she appears to others.  This represents a form of idolatry, in which the individual person replaces God with him- or herself—and, begins to trust in themselves instead of God.  Prof. Boring writes, “hypocrisy is not merely a transgression, but represents a lack of trust in God, a turning away from God toward what others think as the point of orientation for one’s life. "[1]  Jesus points to the Pharisees and scribes as exemplars of this religious hypocrisy, which his followers must avoid. 

Jesus’ critique of the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees is three-pronged:

1.      “Hypocrites do not practice what they teach.”  That is, they do not practice and exemplify their moral teachings, concerning how God intends for the faithful to live their lives.  For instance, the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees loudly proclaim the importance of obeying God’s Law.  And, in minor matters, they do keep the Law.  For instance, in verses 23-24, Jesus notes that they keep the Law, when it comes to tithing small items, such as the spices of mint, dill, and cumin.[2]  However, they neglect the more important commandments, such as working for justice, mercy, and being faithful to God.

2.      “Hypocrites burden others while failing to act themselves.”  In Psalm 19, the psalmist extols God’s Law as life-giving.  The psalmist says,

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple;

“the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes;”  (verses 7-8)

Yet, the hypocrite transforms God’ Law from life-giving to life-draining.  The hypocrite calls others to keep the Law in a burdensome and life-draining manner, which the hypocrites themselves fail to follow.  That is, the hypocrites put up obstacles, preventing others from knowing God and experiencing God’s love.

3.      “Hypocrites seek to impress others—and, be adored by others—rather than seeking God.  On the surface, the hypocrites appear to be very devout believers.  However, in reality, they do not strive for faithfulness to God, but rather they seek to impress others and receive their adoration.  Later in verses 27-28, Jesus compares the hypocrites to a “whitewashed tomb,” noting that they appear righteous on the outside, when in fact they are full of “hypocrisy and lawlessness” on the inside.

These three critiques illustrate Jesus’ critique of hypocrites at the time in which he lives.  But, what about our own time.  Are those critics of Christians correct, when they accuse us of being hypocrites? Perhaps so.

            In my proclamation this weekend, I will point out that being a Christian is a public role.  Wherever we go, we are always modeling the teachings of Christ.  We may not always like being evaluated as a public role-model of discipleship, but we need to accept this as part of following Christ.  Hence the title of my sermon this week: "The Burden of Discipleship." 

The critique that Christians are hypocrites arises when Christians forget that we are constantly being viewed as modelling the teachings of Christ.  On the one hand, this is not a fair standard because we Christians are only human--we fall short and sin just like everyone else.  There are times when we slip into hypocritical behaviors.  Yet, on the other hand, the most powerful sermons are not made of words, but by our actions; by what we do.  The most powerful means of sharing the love of Christ is simply by living faithfully. 

If you live in the Lincoln, Nebraska area and do not have a place to worship, then I invite you to come and join us at Christ United Methodist Church this Sunday, February 17th, as we explore this question of hypocrisy. 

Christ UMC is located at 4530 “A” Street.  We have three worship services on Sunday mornings at 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00.  The 8:30 and 11:00 services feature a traditional worship format and the services are held in our Sanctuary.  “The Gathering” at 9:45 is held in our Family Life Center (gym), and it is more informal and interactive.   

Come, join us.  Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.

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[1] M. Eugene Boring, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew in the New Interpreter’s Bible, vol 8, (Nashville, Abingdon Press, 2002), CD-ROM Edition.

[2] To “tithe” means to give 10% of one’s income to God through the synagogue or Temple.