Readings:
Sermon:
Many years ago I met a delightful couple of sisters at a children’s worship group. On one particular occasion she arrived with her shoes on the wrong feet and on another she arrived with all of her clothes on inside out.
She explained to me that it was game she used to play at home with her sister where each would try to outdo the other with whacky suggestions as to how they should wear their clothes – and whichever idea they decided upon – meant they both wore their clothes like that for the entire day. She told me her favourite was ‘back to front day’ when each item of clothing was literally worn back to front – well – apart from the shoes!
The gospel reading for today got me thinking about those sisters – especially the fun they had with their ‘inside out’ and ‘back to front’ days…and what a glorious reflection of the of kingdom of God they offered. This was what Jesus was trying to teach his disciples about. A messiah who didn’t fulfil their expectations; this Messiah was not going to take power by overthrowing the Romans, nor make himself king and restore Israel. In fact, quite the opposite - this Messiah was going to be betrayed, and killed and then rise again.
The disciples are arguing about their positions in this new kingdom so when Jesus explains how his kingdom will operate it must have come as a bit of a shock - because that wasn’t what they expected to hear either.
They had become so preoccupied with status and position that they began to quarrel about who the greatest among them might be. Which one of them would be the most important, hold the most sway, the most kudos…..
It’s so easy to read this story and shake our heads at the disciples – but let’s be honest – how often do we do the same. How often do we get caught up in our own ambitions, our pride or our own desire for recognition? How often do we lose sight of the bigger picture?
Jesus tells his disciples that whoever wants to be first, must be last of all and servant of all. It’s a ‘back to front’ kingdom. And then he uses an astonishing visual aid to make his point. A child –
‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’
But we do need to exercise caution here - Jesus doesn’t say that greatness is in being a child or being like a child – rather greatness is in welcoming the child. And who wouldn’t welcome a little child? But of course Jesus isn’t talking about the child. He’s talking about what the child represents.
The child here is a symbol for something else. The child is a symbol of vulnerability, powerlessness, and dependency. First century children had no rights, no status, no economic value. The child was a consumer and not a producer. Greatness, says Jesus, is in welcoming and receiving one like this, regardless of his or her age.
Greatness is not found in what we have accomplished and gained for ourselves but in what we have done and given to “the least of these” (Mt. 25.40), the alien, the outcast, the hungry, the sick, the imprisoned; in other words the ‘symbolic’ children in our lives.
Jesus is teaching the disciples that God’s kingdom belongs to those who are no-one and have nothing. Those that the world considers the least are the greatest in God’s ‘back to front’ kingdom.
Back to the story I began with – think about those sisters and their ‘back to front’ day. What a glorious vision of what Jesus is teaching here.
Why not try a ‘back to front’ day for yourself – but maybe on a day when you don’t have to venture too far outdoors…….
Questions:
- What does greatness look like to you?
- And who or where are the ‘symbolic’ children in our church or community – and how might we serve them better.