The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost: The Rev. Aimee Baxter

A post has been circulating in the clergy groups I’m a member of on Facebook the last couple of weeks. It’s entitled, “Rules for Children in the Worship Service”. Admittedly, when I first saw this list, I was hesitant to read it. The last thing our children need when they come to church is more rules. However, it was published by Justice and Peace Consulting so I thought maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as I’d originally thought. It is actually delightful.

There are 10 of them.

1.    If you find that you're sitting in front of a child and they can't see, lean to the side.

2.    If the children seated behind you are rustling papers, hand them a crayon.

3.    If there is a baby that is crying, offer to take the baby from their parent and walk to the back of the church and rock the child for a while. The parent really needs a break.

4.    If the teenagers are whispering give them some Smarties. The rustling and crinkling will replace their whispering.

5.    If an adult complains to an usher about the noisy children near them, offer to trade seats with that adult and then apologize to the parents of the children.

6.    When a child is running around giving everyone high-fives during the time of passing the peace/greeting your neighbor make sure to give them an extra fun high-five, and then high-five the next five adults that you see.

7.    If a child has worn tap shoes to church and is dancing on the wood portion of the floor, slip the sheet music for "The Entertainer" to the pianist and roll with it.

8.    When the children can't hear because an adult around them won't take off their puffy jacket and it keeps squeaking and distracting the children, offer to help them take off their jacket and go hang it up where it goes.

9.    When the three-year-old insists on standing on the front pew turned backwards looking at the rest of the people, give the child a pair of very dark glasses. That will prevent the child from catching any adult's eye, which would lead to distracting them. This will protect the adults who as we know have very short attention spans and are easily distracted.

10.When a child in front of you is very squirmy, and they finally turn around; and you realize suddenly, "Oh, it's Jesus!" take it in stride and play Got Your Nose till he turns around to the front again.

 

This list takes what has been conventional wisdom about how children should or shouldn’t act in church and flips it on his head. I share them with you in part because I can proudly say that I believe you all live into this set of rules really, really well. Gold stars for St. Thomas. Having our children in worship and seeing how you receive them so beautifully is one of the things I miss about our pre-Covid times. Our outdoor service has been one of my favorite ways to experience Jesus’ words to let the little children come to me. Sidewalk chalk, goldfish crackers, swinging on the playground, a little one coloring during the Eucharistic prayer all offer a glimpse of the Kingdom.

We see this same flipping of the script by Jesus in our Gospel reading. People were bringing children to Jesus left and right. I imagine it was a touch chaotic and not at all like those serene Sunday School backdrops we see of Jesus with kids gently placed around him. It had to be loud. There were probably some tears. Definitely laughter. And it was too much for the disciples. After all, Jesus was really important, and children need not come near.

 

But Jesus says, “Oh no, no, no. This isn’t how we are going to do things. Let them draw near to me. If you want to experience the Kingdom, sit with a child for a while.” Or at least that’s my paraphrase of what he tells them. Then, he not only allows them to come near but he swoops them up, holds them and gives them his full attention.

 

What Jesus does in this moment is quite beautiful and revolutionary. He is re-writing the rules for how to interact with people that have never been seen before. Any sense of hierarchy is leveled in his presence. This time it is with the children, but we’ve seen him do it with others.

His actions in this moment reflect an invitational spirit and the heart of an advocate. Not only does he invite the little ones to come near, he takes a moment to educate his disciples and those around him on why they should as well.

I was listening to Glennon Doyle’s podcast, “We Can Do Hard Things,” and someone asked her, “Why Jesus?” In other words, why are you so drawn to him?

She answers that she loves Jesus so much because he seems to always be asking two questions:

1.    Who are the religious leaders forgetting?

2.    Who is power oppressing?

She goes on to explain that Jesus is continually looking for those who have been cast to the side. He shows us what it is like to stand between the stone throwers and the victimized.

Both of Doyle’s questions strike at the heart of what it means to be invitational and an advocate. Jesus demonstrates them when calls the children to him, shows his affection for them, and addresses the crowd on their behalf.

Jesus both subtly and powerfully embodies how this overwhelming work of advocacy is done. The good news is, it’s not as complicated as we tend to make it.

Invite others in.

Give love.

Speak up when they need you most.

Through preparing for this sermon, I’ve been thinking about times when I’ve been on the receiving end of advocacy and how that made me feel. One time in particular always comes to mind.

When I was in third grade, I brought home an assignment that I had done poorly on. As a Type A perfectionist, I was very distraught that I had received a low B instead of the A that I knew I deserved.

My dad looked at the paper and was immediately angry.

The assignment asked us to match different tasks to the appropriate person. Ex: Firefighter to a burning building, a doctor to caring for a patient, etc. There were two tasks that dealt with the home: a person vacuuming and another caring for a baby. I drew a line from the mom to the vacuuming and the dad to the baby.

My teacher marked it wrong and “corrected” it by drawing the line from the vacuum to the dad and the baby to the mom.

As you can imagine this did not sit well with my hands-on father. He took the paper and wrote a note on it. I don’t remember all the details, but it said something to the effect of, “I’ll have you know that I am the father of two children and care for them regularly.”

He told me to give it to my teacher the next day. I was mortified and I did not give it to her for fear that she wouldn’t like me. Add people pleaser to the Type A perfectionist.

But here’s the thing, even though the note never made it to her, it is seared in my memory. I still remember the indignation and now, as an adult, I see the truth in his words. And I am grateful for his righteous anger and willingness to speak up for me. I will never forget it. 

Who are the people in your life that need to be given access to you, the church, your place of employment or school?

Who could use a little more grace, empathy and love?

Whose life could you deeply impact just by speaking up?

Invite others in.

Give love.

Speak up when they need you most.

I promise you; they will never forget it. Amen.