Let the little children come to me

Mark 10:13-16

We have a special treat this morning: five babies to be dedicated to God. We have Adam (who does not yet have a last name – but then neither did his namesake), Karim Al Afour, Sarah Madeline Carr, Claire Amal Smith and Neriyah L. Smith.

My two daughters, Elizabeth Ann and Caitlin Lee, were dedicated as infants as well. Elizabeth was dedicated in Westgate Church, outside of Boston, Massachusetts. I was wearing my wedding suit, the suit I would wear for weddings and funerals for the next decade. And what I remember was standing in front of the congregation while Elizabeth cried and cried and threw up over my suit.

Caitlin was dedicated when I was pastor of a Presbyterian Church in Ohio. I had one of the elders ask Ann and I the questions. I had it all typed out for him and Sam Spontaneo instead of reading “Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior”, read, “Jesus Christ, your Lord and Survivor.” That phrase was used five or so times in asking us the questions and Sam was consistent. Each time, he read, “Jesus Christ, your Lord and Survivor.”

I hope today will be a memorable service, for different reasons.

Matthew, Mark and Luke each record an incident in which Jesus affirmed the worth and individuality of children.

13 People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.  14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”  16 And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.

Jesus was a very busy man. Crowds were attracted to him because of his charisma, his teaching, his miracles, for many reasons. There were so many people, that when he was in a house, four men tore off the roof to lower down their friend so Jesus could heal him. The crowds were so great that the Gospels record that Jesus and his disciples could not eat. People pushed to get to Jesus, even going into houses where he sat trying to eat.

Jesus was much in demand and one of the tasks of his disciples was to protect him, give him room. So they did crowd control, pushing people back, allowing only those who had important business with Jesus to come to him.

In the Palestine of Jesus, there was a very real hierarchy. Men were most important and then women and children. Adults were the key members of society; children were to be seen and not heard.

Parents were bringing their children to be blessed by Jesus and the disciples rebuked them. Didn’t they realize how busy Jesus was? How important he was? He was teaching, healing, casting out demons – important stuff. He didn’t have time to bother with these children.

When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. Indignant comes from two Greek words meaning much grief. It is a very strong word and this is the only place in the Gospels where Jesus directed such strong words towards his disciples. Elsewhere, Jesus directed his anger toward those who put the law above the needs of people. But here he directs it toward the disciples who kept on rebuking the parents who tried to keep their children from Jesus. Jesus saw the disciples pushing the children away and he was indignant.

When Jesus came, he revealed God’s heart and in the process he turned the social order of the world upside down. Jesus revealed the heart of God who cares deeply for each human life. He cares for those the world says are beautiful and worthy and have value, and he cares for those the world says are not beautiful, not worth much, have little value and have little value.

Of what worth is a little baby? Ruth and Habib had a third daughter, born before their son, named Susan. When Susan was dedicated, the prayer of the minister was prophetic. His prayer said that she would cause the feet of many to enter the kingdom of God. But six months later, unexpectedly, Susan died in her crib.

Can God use an infant to cause the feet of many to enter the kingdom of God? Ruth and Habib were working in an orphanage at the time and while the Gospel was known to the staff and children, there was a lot of quarreling and bickering, swearing and stealing. Ruth used to worry about raising her kids in that atmosphere. Each of these orphans had known death, but the unexpected death of Susan came as a shock. In some way, God used her death and her funeral to transform the hearts of those in the orphanage and there was a new spirit. Children began to pray for each other. People experienced emotional and physical healing. Staff, teenagers and younger children were all transformed by Susan’s death. God used this infant to cause the feet of many to enter the kingdom of God.

Each human life is valuable because God created that life and because God is able to use each human life in unexpected ways to accomplish his purposes. God can use a baby for his purposes and the miracle is that he can even use us.

When the parents brought their children to Jesus, their request was that Jesus touch their child. But Jesus did far more than that. He took them in his arms, put his arms on them and blessed him. The Greek tense indicates that Jesus kept on blessing them. He picked up each child and blessed each child individually.

In Jesus’ very busy schedule with so many people coming to see him, people to be healed, people to be taught, demons to be dealt with, Jesus took his time and blessed each child.

We are privileged this morning to follow the example of Jesus and devote our service to the dedication of these five babies to God.

What does it mean to bring a child to be dedicated?

Dedication is a particularly Old Testament concept. In fact, the word dedication is found only once in the New Testament, in John 10:22 where it is a reference to the Feast of Dedication which is better known now as Hanukkah.

Underlying Deuteronomic law there is an understanding that a tithe of everything belongs to God. If you were a farmer, a tenth of your grain belonged to the Lord. That offering was given to the priests and Levites for their support and a portion of that grain was burned on the altar as an offering to God. If you had cattle and sheep, a tenth was offered to the priests and Levites.

Remembering that in Egypt, God spared the firstborn male child of each Hebrew family that sprinkled the blood of a lamb on their doorframes, the firstborn male child of each family was given to the Lord. But then the law was set up so that parents could buy back their firstborn son with an offering. So Joseph and Mary offered two pigeons to buy back Jesus when they took him to the temple.

I don’t have time to go into all the details and intricacies of Deuteronomic Law this morning, but the point I want to make is that the Hebrew understanding was that a part was given to God and the rest was mine. I give God a tithe, a tenth of what I have, my firstborn son (or an offering to buy him back) and I have fulfilled my duty. I give God a tenth, a tithe, of my harvest, and the rest is mine. I give God a tenth, a tithe, of what I earn, and the rest is mine.

The Christian understanding is radically different. Do you remember in the Sermon on the Mount how Jesus taught using this formula? Jesus said, “You have heard it said,” and gave the Deuteronomic Law. Then he continued and said, “But I tell you,” and presented the fuller understanding of the principles that underlay the Deuteronomic Law. So in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not murder’ But I tell you if anyone is angry with his brother, he will be subject to judgement.”

It has been said, Do not commit adultery, but I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Jesus took the Deuteronomic law and taught us the meaning for the law. Jesus helped us to see the underlying principle of the law. Jesus taught us to understand the reason for the law.

In the Hebrew Testament, God gets a tithe. God is teaching a people taken out of the world that they are best served when they focus on him. God is teaching people through the requirement that they give a tithe that they are to pay attention to their creator and remember who it was that sustained them.

Now in the Christian Testament with the understanding that comes through the Holy Spirit, the whole truth is revealed. Everything belongs to God. Not just a tenth, a tithe, but everything. It is not my house, it is God’s house. It is not my car, it is God’s car. It is not my bank account, it is God’s bank account. It is not my child, it is God’s child.

It is no longer a matter of presenting your firstborn son and buying him back with your offering. Now, in the Christian Testament, all you possess belongs to God. All your children are given to the Lord.

It is no longer a matter of bringing a tithe. Everything I have belongs to God. When I write out a check, it is God’s money I am using. When I buy a car, I am using God’s money to buy that car. I don’t put my money into the offering plate on Sunday morning, I am putting God’s money into the offering plate.

God has given me all I have and I am a steward of what he has given me and I will be judged for how I used the resources God has given me.

This is really a very radical teaching and needs more attention than I can give this morning. So let me return to children.

These five children presented today to be dedicated to the Lord are not the possessions of Errol and Michelle, Kevin and Karen, Phil and Monica, Marius and Surette. How can they possess what belongs to God? They are stewards of these gifts, given to them by God.

When they come today to dedicate their babies to God, they are acknowledging the reality of their faith and publically determining to raise the children they have been given in a way that will please the one who has given them this gift.

These parents do not own these babies. Some parents have viewed their children as their retirement fund. These babies are not being raised to take care of them in their old age. God will care for these parents in their old age. If these children grow up to follow God and are obedient to him, they will take on the responsibility of caring for their aged parents, but that will be their choice.

Some parents live vicariously through their children. Some parents push their children to excel athletically to relive their glory years when they were athletes or perhaps to achieve athletic glory they were never able to achieve.

Some parents push their children to achieve academically or put their children in beauty contests or whatever, just to relive what they once experienced or wanted to experience.

So parents, let me tell you that the child you hold in your arms is an individual given to you by God. You may be an extrovert and expect a child to be outgoing and want to play with his or her friends all the time. But if God has given you an introverted child, allow that child to have the time alone he or she needs to nourish the heart, soul and mind.

If you are introverted, allow your extraverted child to be verbally expressive. If you are a very orderly person, allow your non-orderly child to thrive with a bit of disorder.

I understand that this last statement might get me in trouble. Let me explain why I say this. My oldest daughter, Elizabeth, is one who always had her homework done ahead of time. When a paper or project was due, she had the paper or project finished a week ahead of time so she could give it a final review before handing it in.

My youngest daughter, Caitlin, got up at 4 in the morning to write the paper and handed it in. What infuriated me is that she got just as good grades as her sister. I wanted her to fail so she would learn a lesson, but she did very well.

Caitlin was not wrong, she was different. The person God made Caitlin to be succeeds in life, pleases God, but she does it differently than I would do. You need to allow your child to be an individual. You need to allow your child to be the unique person God created him or her to be.

Romans 12:2 says we are not to let the world squeeze us into it’s mold. We, as parents, are not to cooperate with the world in trying to force our children to be anything other than the person God created them to be.

Watch your child, observe your child who God has given to you. Who is the person God has given you to care for? Allow this individual, uniquely created by God, to grow into the person God created him or her to be.

If you push your child to be what you want him or her to be, you will distort the person God has given you. God has given a child to you who you need. Allow that child to grow to his or her potential so you will be blessed by God’s gift to you.

All human life is valued by God and our service this morning is particularly blessed because we have with us the first two children of the Ain Leuh Orphanage: Adam and Karim. These are the first two of a hundred or more children who will be chosen to be part of the Ain Leuh Orphanage. I hope to have the opportunity to be part of each child’s dedication and I want RPF to feel intimately connected with this orphanage.

Adam and Karim stand in great company. Moses was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter. Queen Esther was adopted by Mordecai. Jesus was essentially adopted by Joseph.

One of the struggles common to adopted children, is dealing with the rejection of their natural parents who abandoned them, gave them up. But the flip side of this is that adopted children have parents who chose to have them, who made the decision, “I want this child for my own.”

Whether you were planned, just happened or were chosen by adoption, what matters is that you had or have parents who love you and want you.

These five babies presented today to be offered to the Lord are equally fortunate. They each have parents who love them and want them to be part of their family.

In a moment, Pastor Carr will ask the parents of these five children a question so they can affirm their desire to raise their children in a way that reflects God’s love for these infants, created in the image of God.

He will also ask us, the church gathered here in Rabat, if we accept the responsibility to care for these children, to encourage the parents of these children.

If we say that we accept this responsibility, we do so knowing that we will most likely not be with these children for the thirteen years of their childhood. Most of us are not here for a long time and will move on to other countries. But when we say we accept this responsibility, we accept this responsibility for the children here and those we will know in the church we go to after RPF.

Accepting this responsibility should not be done easily. In my own life, part of my rejection of the church as a teenager was my observation that what was preached on Sunday was not lived out by the elders of the church during the week. Our behavior, our love or lack thereof communicates to children. We have an influence on the children in the church we attend. When you stand to say you accept the responsibility to care for these children and their parents, do so with a conviction to be a model for the children of your church of God’s love lived out in the world.

Parents come forward with children.
Children come forward.
Those with the names of the babies come forward.
Those who have been adopted come forward.

A verse for each baby.
A prayer for each baby.