October 6, 2024 ~ World Communion Sunday
Rev. Beckie Sweet
I can still remember the feeling of excitement and anticipation I felt getting into the family station wagon. I was 7 years old. It was a cool summer morning, and the car was packed with suitcases, bags, and a cooler for our trip to the river ~ The St. Lawrence River where we had recently acquired a camp. I wasn’t in charge of packing the car or the cooler. I wasn’t in charge of filling the car with gas. I wasn’t in charge of knowing how to get to the River. My only job was to sit quietly in the back seat, catching the breeze from the open window like a puppy feeling the wind on its face, with complete confidence in my parents and extreme excitement about our journey.
Through the years, with three children of my own, the roles reversed. I took on the responsibilities of the parent, as my children sat not-so-quietly in our minivan and felt the wind on their faces. I hope my now grown children have fond memories of family trips to the farm and to the River. Yes, we camped in a tent inside the barn on Sweet Dream Farm for about 15 years. My children had strict instructions that if anyone ever asked them if they were “raised in a barn,” they were to respond with an enthusiastic, “YES!” Now the roles continue to reverse. My children are now responsible for far more than catching the breeze from the car window like puppies and they often make the plans for our excursions.
I have done more work-related solo travel, since my children were young. I’m responsible for getting myself where I’ve promised to preach, or meet, or go to learn. I’m responsible for picking up my rental car when needed, plugging my destination into my GPS, and making sure I get to my destination in plenty of time, despite bad weather and bad traffic. And it isn’t a good idea to drive while hanging your head out the window. Actually, I have not done that since the day a bumble bee smacked me in the forehead while we were travelling at 55 mph! Ouch!
All of this is to say that I think this text expresses a lovely ideal—receiving the kin-dom of God like a little child: complete trust in God on the trip of life. But for me that ship has long since sailed; that station wagon has long since been scrap-heaped. I’m sitting in the driver’s seat now. Adulthood involves a lot of anxiety.
I’m not the only adult to struggle with Jesus’ “receive the kin-dom of God like a child” entry requirement. In the narrative flow of Mark, this text occurs as Jesus prepares to head for Jerusalem in chapter 11. This story is followed by three accounts of those whose anxious preoccupations prevent them from fully trusting God on their trip: the rich man (10:17-22), Peter (10:28-31), and James and John (10:35-40). It is apparently impossible to fully trust God if you are preoccupied with possessions, payback, or prestige.
Still the entry requirement stands: “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” The authors of Mark as Story put it well: “For Mark, faith is access to the power of God” that comes from “total submission to God’s rule not only in terms of trust but also in terms of obedience.” (Mark as Story, p. 107)
That’s an eloquent ideal, but receiving the kin-dom of God as a little child is not something I can do myself, no matter how hard I try. It’s too late. There is no turning back the clock to the time I was a carefree 7-year-old. It’s not that I wouldn’t if I could. There are lots of things I could do if I tried. I could be a better cook. I could play the piano well enough to accompany a children’s choir if I really tried. I could become fluent in a foreign language. If Jesus were to say to me, unless you learn to speak German fluently and cook delicious and nutritious meals with all organic, locally grown ingredients every evening, you will not enter the kin-dom of heaven, I’d get right on it.
But this entry requirement leaves me feeling frustrated. At this stage in my life, how am I to receive the kin-dom of God like a little child? The kin-dom of God belongs to those who, in their dependent state, trust God to guide their trip. This text asks something of proactive adults that seems impossible. We just must balance our efforts to become intelligent, independent and dependable with the human need to rely on and trust in our divine source of provision, protection, grace and salvation! That is why we are invited time after time to Jesus’ Table of Grace.
That is the good news. Amen.