He then took a little child...
ST. PAUL'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH - SMITHFIELD, NC
Sermon by The Rev. Philip R. Taylor
Holy Baptism for Andrew Eacho
September 18, 1994 - Proper 20, Year B
Lessons: Wisdom 1:16-2:1, (6-11), 12-22; Psalm 54; James 3:16-4:6;
Mark 9:30-37
30After leaving that place they made their way through Galilee; and he did not want anyone to know,31because he was instructing his disciples; he was telling them, ‘The Son of man will be delivered into the power of men; they will put him to death; and three days after he has been put to death he will rise again.’32But they did not understand what he said and were afraid to ask him. 33They came to Capernaum, and when he got into the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’34They said nothing, because on the road they had been arguing which of them was the greatest.35So he sat down, called the Twelve to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.’36He then took a little child whom he set among them and embraced, and he said to them,37‘Anyone who welcomes a little child such as this in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me, welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’ [1]
He then took a little child…
I want to comment on some of the phrases from today's Gospel lesson and then speak about the Baptism we all experienced. The lessons read today were not specially selected because there would be a baptism. They are the lessons appointed for this Sunday. It is the work of the Holy Spirit that they are so appropriate.
After leaving that place they made their way through Galilee
All of us are on the move, we are passing by each other at break neck speed, and we are all passing through Galilee.
He was instructing his disciples; he was telling them, ‘The Son of man will be delivered into the power of men; they will put him to death; and three days after he has been put to death he will rise again.’
And Jesus is trying, trying so desperately to teach us, telling us about God's truth, teaching us, trying to teach us about the mysterious reality of life with its continuous death and resurrection episodes.
They did not understand.
And neither do we understand. We are no more able after twenty centuries of devotion and reflection to comprehend the cross and the empty tomb than were those who walked with Jesus.
Perhaps the cross and tomb cannot be understood in any traditional sense. Perhaps they must be received, tested in real life and their reality lived out in the ordinary sorrows and triumphs of our lives.
‘What were you arguing about on the road?’
Jesus knew that it is human nature for his friends and for us today to try and have a totally irrelevant conversation when we are confronted with immediate and essential truth. We would all rather talk about who is the best golfer than to have to face our individual and corporate responsibilities.
They said nothing, because on the road they had been arguing which of them was the greatest.
Their embarrassment and silence is not unlike what our experience would be, if our own self serving thoughts were to be exposed.
So he sat down, called the Twelve to him…
When a Rabbi wanted to impart a special and an important teaching, he sat down. Based on what Jesus was about to say, the disciples should have had a seat themselves.
‘If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.’
T. S. Eliot in The Cocktail Party said, "Half the harm done in this world is due to people who want to feel important." Jesus knew this truth long before the poet. We cannot serve two masters. We cannot serve false honor, pride, ego and at the same time be agents of the love of Jesus.
Jesus' words spare no one. He cuts immediately to the heart of the matter. Even in the paradox which Jesus uses often, there is no opportunity to misunderstand. Be a servant, do not regard your own position, just be a servant.
He then took a little child…
So that there would be absolutely no opportunity for the Twelve to miss his point, Jesus sets a child in front of them, puts his arm around the child, and points out who they are to serve, the helpless.
A child is the symbol Jesus chooses to portray the helpless and powerless that the Twelve and we are to serve.
Jesus ends the lesson to his friends and us by saying that this servant hood is not just to be some bleeding heart, sentimentality but is to be service to Jesus and indeed service to God Almighty who has sent Jesus.
After I baptized Andrew and after Father Rightmyer led us in prayer over this child, I gave Andrew to Father Rightmyer. He marked the sign of the cross on Andrew's forehead saying these words, "Andrew, you are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ's own for ever." We all responded, "Amen", so be it.
Jeff, Caroline; when Andrew was handed back to you, he was handed back to you as a new creature. He is no longer your possession but, according to the ancient teaching and tradition of the church, now Christ's possession. Andrew no longer belongs to you and your family alone, but to Christ and in Christ's absence to all of us. After all, ‘Christ has no body now but ours’.
If this child belongs now to Christ, then he belongs to all of us, to all the members of Christ's Holy Church throughout the world. We have been given the unique role of being Christ for Andrew and of serving the Christ in Andrew.
We have yet one more chance to proclaim God's Kingdom, to promote God's Justice. God has given us Andrew that we might have yet another opportunity to proclaim to him and through him, that love is stronger than hate, that peace is mightier than violence, and that in serving and embracing the helpless we are touching God himself.
May God grant us the wisdom and grace to be faithful stewards of this child and of our responsibility to Andrew and others given into this fellowship of faith and given into our care.
Andrew was given the breath of God and the spirit of God at his birth. We have affirmed that and proclaimed those gifts today. The gift to Andrew is the Holy Spirit. The gift to us is Andrew. It is an awesome gift and a holy responsibility which we have accepted today.
May God have mercy on us if we fail to proclaim the love of God by not loving all of God's children in tenderness and mercy. May God have mercy on us if we fail to live in peace with each other and our children. May God have mercy on us if we fail to be servants of the helpless and powerless in full view of Andrew and others given into our care.
Andrew, we ask for your forgiveness and for God's forgiveness in this holy endeavor as we fall short of the mark. In your own time help us remember our promises to you and to God.
We look forward to that day when you and all our children will in God's time and by God's grace, confess the faith of Christ crucified, proclaim his resurrection and share with us and others in his eternal priesthood.
In the name of God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Amen.
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[1]The New Jerusalem Bible. 1995, c1985. Includes indexes. (Mk 9:30). Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday.