Welcome a Child, Welcome God

Sermon from September 24, 2006

Scripture: Mark 10: 13-16, NRSV

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.

How do we welcome each other, and those we don’t know? How do we let people know that they are accepted and wanted? I’ve been to lots of 12 step group meetings. I’m going to teach you the traditional greeting. In these groups, when it is someone’s turn to speak, they stand and say Hi, I’m Stacie. All the members of the group then say in unison, Hi Stacie, Welcome. It is really a nice tradition. It let’s the speaker know they are accepted, and that the group wants to hear what they have to share. Soooo, Let’s give it a try it. Hi, I’m Stacie……You are all very dysfunctional...

As a church, as Christians, we welcome others into our fellowship, into our friendship, into our church family, we welcome others into a world-wide community proclaiming Jesus Christ, to our journey of discipleship with Christ, and into our spiritual home, this place we worship our God.

What would our Church look like if we considered a stranger, —someone not like us, someone who did not believe like us, whose appearance and life was strange to us—as a guest of Christ? Or even as Christ himself?

Going back to the scripture text, it is a very familiar story, there are variations of it in 3 of the gospels. This story gives us a clue to WHO we are called to welcome, and how deeply we are to welcome.

I want us to look at this scene again, and I’m going to define more clearly what it meant to be one of these children. A child in our culture is normally, hopefully, cherished and is put first in our priorities. Because of this we tend to have a romanticized understanding of this event.

This story is usually told in of terms of the innocence of children, the curiosity, the accepting nature of children, That may have been part of what Christ was talking about, but in the context of those days, it meant much more.

One clue to the status of children in Jesus times is that in Aramaic, child and slave are the same word. In those days, when a child was born, a decision had to be made, of whether you wanted to keep it. That decision was made by the father.


If the child was a girl, not perfect, or the family was very poor, sometimes that infant would be abandoned on the side of the road. If this child were lucky, someone would pick it up to raise it as a slave.



Bible scholars believe that there may have been some question and controversy in Mark’s society about what should be done with the infants. They presume that some had been rescued, but they didn’t know how to deal with the situation.

So, the disciples get back from someplace, and they’ve been arguing. Jesus asks them “What are you fighting about?” They answer, after some hem-hawing, that they’ve been fighting about who was the greatest among them, who was most valued among the disciples.

Jesus got up, picked up one of the babies, probably a girl, with no name, no identity, no value or worth as a human being, and no future, and blesses this child. Listen to the words in the scripture. “touch, taking in his arms, blessed, laid hands on”.

These are the official bodily action of a father designating a newborn for life, rather than casting it out. This meant that this child was accepted as family, with all of the responsibilities and obligations required to raise and provide for it. The child was also entitled to all the privileges and blessings of belonging to a family.

In this act Jesus told them that when they welcome this “nobody”, this “outcast”, with honor and acceptance, they were welcoming God.

In another variation of this story, the disciples tried to prevent the people from taking these children to Jesus. They were probably crying to themselves, “No Jesus, what are you doing?!” This Blessing and acceptance of outcast children was such a radical act.

We tend to sentimentalize this story. Instead, we might hear it as a radical command, an upsetting one even. It turned the “kingdom upside-down.”

God knew those babies were of infinite worth, had done nothing to deserve the life they were destined for. Society told the people of those days to look away. Our society tells us to look away, to not allow the distress of the stranger to confront our realities or our comfort.

In our culture today we debate issues involving immigration, war, terrorism, race, poverty, health care, all things involving the value of other human beings, all discussions we sometimes want to look away from.

To welcome God into our hearts, and into our midst, we must also honor, love, respect, and welcome the lost, the lowest, the least of these--those that our society has deemed to be of no value. We can’t accept what our culture has labeled people, we must accept all as our sisters and brothers, as members of the family of God

In our life as Christians today, there are sometimes obstacles that prevent us from welcoming quite as deeply as Jesus did.

We are all very busy, all pressed for time. We try, but we cannot microwave friendship, love, and hospitality. These things require our presence, and they take as long to do as they ever did.

Sometimes we just fail to anticipate the needs of each other. We don’t mean to do it, but we have all experienced times when we were forgotten, neglected, or not appreciated.

We welcome each other, unless we are angry with them. We sometimes hold grudges. We welcome those who don’t challenge our politics, our traditions, our understandings of God, our comfort.

And let’s remember our Brother Steve Veazey’s admonition : As one body we will avoid labels and behaviors that push people out of the community and seek reconciliation that restores people to community. We are one body. Since Jesus Christ has broken down the walls between us we shall not rebuild them.

In our life here in Toledo today, we sometimes DO get this hospitality very right, I’m going to remind us of some times when this has happened.

One example is the way that you welcomed my mom when I brought her to church a couple of weeks ago . You welcomed her like she was you own mothers, making her laugh, sharing your food, playing with her, coaxing her to budge when she wouldn’t move. Just like family would.

Another example is when we gathered to support Shirley and Karie on the day of the transplant surgeries. The boundaries of family were erased for that one day. We were not the Wittenmyers, the Kutzly’s, the Dotson’s, the Husteds, the Zimmerman’s, the Williams, The blankleys, the Dirrims, the Brights, , and many others who joined us by internet that we don’t even know their names. We were one family in love and spirit. It is a shame that sometimes it takes the swapping of organs to bring us to that awareness.

My most significant, life-altering experience of welcoming and acceptance happened to me here, in this congregation a few years ago.

There was a time, when I was 7 and 8 years old, when I was cast away to the side of the road, actually, it was into a river, by someone I loved the most. I won’t go into the details today, but those events set me up for a lifetime of loneliness, isolation, and fear.

A few years ago, when I had my episode with Bipolar disorder, I cast myself to the side of the road again. I struggled with the basic activities of daily living I struggled for a sense of worth, for meaning to my life, and to just feel and accept love.

I am not related to any of you, we do not share one drop of blood, yet through God’s love, and the loving response of this congregation, I was treated and accepted as family.

Because of God working through your lives, I am alive and I have a future. You opened your hearts and your homes, you took me to appointments, you confronted me, you pushed me to do things I didn’t want to do, you shook your heads and tried again when I made bad decisions, you cried with me, you made me laugh, you listened and you prayed.

I remember sitting in the office with Bud, telling him things were really bad, and going to get a lot worse. I told him to just let me go. He held on instead. And so did Janet, and Lisa, and Anne, and this whole wonderful church family.

I could have gone the way of those unloved children, those people of no worth, but God used you to redeem my life, to give me hope. You welcomed me just as Christ welcomed those outcast children. I not only share in God’s love, and in your love, but the miracle is, I have come to love and accept myself as a child of God. I will never be the same. I thank God for this life I have every day. And I thank you.

I think we are called as a congregation to create that kind of climate where all are welcome, and can find a healing space to be authentic and accepted, where all can explore and experience God in ways that are meaningful and relevant, where all can experience the joy of fellowship and join the journey of discipleship with Christ. This is Sacred Community.

I am a brainstormer and a list maker. I have tried to reflect on the climate in our congregation, looking for areas where we might be able to better “welcome” the stranger, or the neighbor, even each other.

The word hospitality comes from 2 Greek words, and literally means, Welcome the Stranger. I have some proposals in hospitality, that we can try to incorporate into our time together, some simple, some more challenging.

First, I want to suggest 2 simple rules for welcoming visitors and each other. For 3 minutes after the service is over, don’t talk to your friends and family, talk to visitors, or someone you don’t know that well. There are studies that tell us that 3 minutes is the time it takes for a visitor to leave the building. That is our window for welcoming.

The second easy proposal. If you are within 10 feet of someone, visitor or member, greet them. If they are a visitor say” I don’t think we’ve met, my name is fill-in-the-blank, Welcome!”. You can put this in your own words.

Another proposal, Let’s share our lives with each other. This transforming, loving influence doesn’t have to happen in a worship service. It happens at lunch, in the park, while shopping together, in living rooms, in hospital rooms, while painting your house, at camp, at the cottage, on a cruise, in an email, on the phone, in the car on the way to someplace. In worship we speak to and about God. We also need to speak to each other. We need to listen to each other.

From Doctrine and Covenants 161: Open your hearts and feel the yearnings of your brothers and sisters who are lonely, despised, fearful, neglected, unloved. Reach out in understanding, clasp their hands, and invite all to share in the blessings of community created in the name of the One who suffered on behalf of all.

My Last proposal. We need to welcome the stranger, the alien, the alienated among us. The people who feel a division, a conflict, or just not sure where or if they fit in anymore.

I’ll confess: A year ago, I had just given up, sent some emails that I wasn’t coming back. After 3 weeks of silence, someone made an effort to listen, not even a person from this congregation. He had no idea what he was walking into, he didn’t really know me. What he got, when I decided to take a chance and trust, was all my anger and hostility and pain and hopelessness about my mom, and grandmother, and my sister‘s fire, and this congregation. He listened through all that anger, without interruption, without judgment and without telling me my perceptions were wrong.

There is healing in just being heard and understood. Through speaking my truth, as I saw it, I was able to see a new reality, a new truth, and some hope. I could see why people acted as they did, have a bit of compassion for those I was so angry with. It allowed me to come to a place of reconciliation in my own soul, and to forgive those who really hadn’t done anything so wrong.

We need to listen to each other, to deeply listen, with our mouths closed and not jump in with our own story, or to correct their perceptions. A good rule for deep listening is “The person who starts a sentence should be the one to finish it.” Truly hearing the person is the first step to reconciliation. I don’t believe that true reconciliation can happen until someone feels heard and understood.

When we listen in a shallow way to someone we make judgments about their character and integrity, and the depth of their walk with God.

When we can listen deeply, we learn the “whys”, the “what in their lives has brought them to this understanding”. We come to a new respect and appreciation for each other. We free each other to speak and explore and discover the deepest truths of our lives. This is sacred work.

From doctrine and covenants 161: Do not be fearful of one another. Respect each life journey, even in its brokenness and uncertainty, for each person has walked alone at times. Be ready to listen and slow to criticize, lest judgments be unrighteous and unredemptive.

Simply being nice people doesn’t cut it, not if we are to be authentic followers of Christ. We need to be the radical people, the people who love and accept the people who are hard to love, and those who believe they are outside the boundaries of our love.

We are all nice people, yet there are still people in our midst, and in our families, and in our world who ache to feel the blessings of being loved, and sacred community.

The love revealed in Christ is not just warm fuzzies. It is the hard work of holding on in love and compassion and respect to the people who challenge us, perplex us, reject us , anger us, disappoint us, overwhelm us. It is bearing with each other, bearing each other’s burdens, even the pains of loniless, hostility, and misunderstanding.

Transplanting this revolutionary discipleship of the kingdom into our day, and our congregation, will take us into uncharted territory. We have the map of our scriptures, and in them Christ gave us the two most important landmarks for our journey. If you know them, say them with me.

‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

We are writing this sacred story with our lives. We need to let the spirit speak, and guide, as we seek and discern our way.

From section 162: You are a good and faithful people, but sometimes you fail to see the power that is resident in your own story and fellowship. Look carefully, listen attentively, and sense the Spirit among you.

As individuals, as the Toledo congregation, as a movement within Christianity, we need to be asking ourselves a question, and listening for answers.

Are we like the disciples, wanting to choose for ourselves who is most valued, who is acceptable in the kingdom of God. Do we stand in the way of Christ, not wanting to welcome the “unlovable ones” and “difficult ones” into the family of God?

How will we as a congregation answer this question?

What will we let Jesus be and do among us?

What will we let Jesus be and do among us?