“Children, come unto me,” says Jesus.
Have you ever been in a conversation with somebody
and the question starts out with
what I would call a leading question and
you can sense that you are getting entrapped?
We know that from the very beginning;
oh this is going to be one of those conversations!
It’s going to be one of those arguments.
It’s frustrating because you know right from the very first words
that this isn’t really going to be a dialogue;
it’s going to be a confrontation.
It is set up right from the beginning.
And it is usually set up in terms of either/or.
It’s like this or that. Which side are you on?
And they have already figured you into being on one side
and then they are just making sure.
Then the hammer hits.
They’ll say, “Oh, well you’re wrong.”
And they disparage you.
It happens to me more than I would care to admit.
“Father you said this and then boom!”
The hammer hits!
But here is the interesting thing.
We all tend to do this just a little bit;
when we get short or maybe when we get tired,
we tend to do that especially with those closest to us,
our spouse, our closest friends, even our closest co-workers.
And we’ll say, “Oh, is this what you did?”
And it’s kind of a trap.
That is what Jesus gets with the Pharisees today.
He even says in case we missed it
“And they said this to test him.”
In other words, they laid a trap for him.
Is it okay to get a divorce?
Because they thought they were going to get him either way.
They were going to capture him.
What Jesus does is masterful.
It is important for us to look at this
because it is a great way to handle all of life,
truth be told, but in particular with confrontations this like
which are uncomfortable at best.
He immediately reframes the conversation;
he does not buy into the either/or but reframes it.
And the reframing almost always for Jesus
is in the Kingdom of God.
He reframes this question about
what it looks like in the Kingdom of God.
They are kind of left speechless.
Let’s go through it a little bit as it is worth noting
because it is sort of masterful.
They talk about the divorce
and he reframes it about how we were designed from the very beginning.
He says, “What did Moses tell you?”
Moses said we could have a divorce.
And then he says “Oh, that’s because you missed the design.”
He gives an anthropology lesson here, a biblical anthropology.
He tells us that when we were created,
we were not created as individuals;
we were created to be in community:
Male and female they were created right from the beginning
to be in community with one another.
Now the ideal version of that community is the family. Right?
Male and female and the family unit.
And that is what was set up.
We are made for community is what is critical.
And this so offends our American mentality
because we have this rugged individualism;
we have individual rights, and I can exercise my individual rights
and it is about me and mine.
And that may be all American
but it is just not biblical. Right?
The Bible tells us right from the beginning,
first chapter of the Bible,
says we were born to be in community:
male and female.
And that is how we were designed.
We were designed to be communal animals.
We need each other.
It is not an optional extra.
We need each other.
And it is not just the family unit.
This community is an example.
We need each other.
We need to be able to see each other.
We need to be able to interact with each other.
That is why the pandemic was so difficult for us
is because we were not able to do that.
This is natural. This is what we designed to do.
And that is what Jesus lays out clearly.
In the end, when you are presented with an argument that is either/or,
just almost know that you will always know
it is a trap.
And almost always, it is both/and not either/or.
In this case, we were designed for community
and yes, you are individuals but we were designed to be in community.
And is divorce allowed?
Yes, but it is not a great thing.
And so, Jesus kind of says yes but God’s mercy is most important.
Now here is the interesting part:
we would think his faithful disciples would get the message but no.
They are numb nuts. They don’t get it either.
They are the closest to him and he is so frustrated.
What does he do?
He takes a group of children and says,
“Be like them.” So what is it about children
that makes them such great example?
Let’s find out. (The children come up to the altar)
Children, c’mon. C’mon up. We’re going to talk.
Children, I need your advice.
Boys and girls, Jesus turns around and he tells all of us adults
that we are meant to be like you.
Whoa, that’s kind of cool, isn’t it?
Now what makes you so special?
What is so awesome about being a kid?
“You don’t have to pay taxes!”
He got it, oh my gosh, that’s awesome.
What else is so awesome about being a kid?
“Everyone is amazing to us.
Everyone loves us and everyone amazes us.”
Yes, you’re right. Everyone loves children.
So, boys and girls, “How much do you earn?”
You earn no money.
That’s kind of cool. Ahhh.
You bring nothing into the household.
Do you get nothing in return?
No. You get everything.
You get food.
You get clothes and water.
You get shelter.
Education. You are right.
You get pretty much everything. For nothing.
You do nothing! And you get everything!
That is what Jesus is saying to us.
That we are called to be just like that
because we do absolutely nothing for the Kingdom of God.
There is nothing we can do.
We do not earn it.
We do not earn the love of your Mum or Dad.
We do not earn your education.
We do not earn the bread and water.
We do not earn it and yet you are given it freely.
Mum and Dad love you;
your brothers and sisters love you;
your grandparents who are extra doses of big ole’ packages of love.
And they love us without any cost.
We do not bring anything.
We get it all for free.
We are meant to model that with God.
We are called to be like you
because we cannot earn God’s love.
We are given God’s love and we cannot earn it.
And what we are called to do is,
just like what you guys do, accept it;
and as you did, you raise up your hands
and it’s great because everybody loves us and God loves us so much.
So, thank you for being an example.
And thank you for earning nothing and taking everything
because that is exactly what we are meant to do.
All right boys and girls, head on back. ( The children return.)
Why does Jesus take the children to himself and do that?
Because we all think that we earn God’s love.
Let’s be very clear.
We can never earn God’s love.
God’s love is always free;
and just like the kids
we do nothing to get it,
we get it all for free.
And that is why Jesus holds it up as a model
because that is the mentality that we are meant to have.
Now, as a result of that, we ought to be like what this little girl said
“Be happy because we are so wonderfully loved.”
And out of that, we come to the table to offer
thanksgiving and praise to God;
to receive that love once more again, that abundant grace,
which is completely unmerited and completely unearned.
So out of that then we come to share it with others;
and we come to share it especially with those who most need it;
the people who are broken and wounded;
the people who are finding it hard in life.
That is the communal nature of who we are.
So, what does it mean for us?
If we get into one of those leading arguments, a leading question,
that leads into an argument just know that if it is an either/or,
it is never going to be a good thing.
It is almost always a both/and.
And just enter into it as a both/and.
When we allow ourselves to think that it is all about us, individually,
remember it is about us together.
Our Catholic teaching says we do not get saved individually;
we get saved communally together.
And so, we do this together.
And what is it that we do together?
We keep our hands open to receive God’s love just like a child;
we accept it completely unearned, unmerited, showered upon us.
We accept it and that will transform us
so that we then can be kind, gentle, and massively loving
unmerited to those around us.
And believe me, if we can all do that,
this place will change because
every time we will come out of here from this table,
people will wonder what it is they do over there
at 9:00 a.m. at St. Simon’s because something wonderful is happening.
That is on us.
Let God’s grace flow;
let it be all the way through us;
and in and out to the community.
God’s love is abundant.
