Like A Child Oct.28, 2008

Luke 18: 9-14
I Corinthians 13
How do we reconcile Paul's “When I was a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child, I acted like a child, when I became a Man, I gave up childish ways” with Jesus'
“Let the little children come to me, do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God”, and “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child shall not enter it”?
Was Paul correcting Jesus? Was Jesus correcting Paul? Neither of these make any sense.

The word we have translated as “little children” does not mean, 8 year old, or 5 and ¾ by September, not 3, or Toddler, but rather “INFANT, NEW BORN” One who cannot reason, who doesn't understand, who has no list of accomplishments. One for whom all life is a gift new and unknown an “inheritance” given simply for being in life.
We have this perverse sense about inheritances, that these are about distributing accumulated wealth, and if we endured without complaint, we are entitled to family reward. Like Halloween, we expect Candy, we expect Costumes, we even expect a little perfumed shaving cream when talking about life and death and eternal life. But all of that is foolish nonsense.

As highly advanced and intellectual as we are, HUMANITY is no different, no better or worse than the LAND, the BEASTS of the field, the TREES and VINES described by the Prophet Joel. As far as God is concerned, we are God's Creatures. The whole of the Scriptures is a faith response to Eve and Adam.

Science has reasoned that we are evolved from the Great Ages. That tells us WHEN and HOW, even WHERE, WHO and WHAT, but cannot answer WHY? Like an Autopsy, we can determine the cause of death, but those answers do not address WHY?
Why the friend we have known since 2nd Grade,
the Grandmother who always understood and made us Chocolate Chip Cookies,
our Father, our Mother, our Child betrayed life, why they were taken from us, why they died?
Christian Faith describes: We were created for a purpose, to be in covenant relationship with God caring for Creation. But our prototype malfunctioned as have we all. Created in the Image of the Creator, Humanity has continually attempted to make ourselves GOD and to recreate our world. The Scriptures are evidence of God's continual effort to reCreate that original relationship of absolute trust.

The Old Testament Prophet describes, God was going to punish, to provide locusts and grasshoppers that will devour everything, until humanity is hungry, until we get down low enough that we have no choice but to be dependent upon God. The problem with the LAW is that as Human Beings we have evolved an intense desire for competition, so intense we are willing to cheat. For many of us, the issue is not about right and wrong, but only getting caught, being found out, paying the penalty so we can continue. Having cheated ourselves, cheated life, cheated God, God did what only God could do. Having created reality, God could not take it away, with a Freedom of Will God could not make us follow, but neither could God tollerate the suffering of the world. God did what only God could do, the Creator stepped into Creation, humbled Divinity, and sacrificed even life itself for us. Still, we amass more and more stuff, more accomplishments and degrees and responsibilities, but are never satisfied. Just when we imagine we have it all, that we have won at life, there is death.

In these three distinct conversations Jesus comes back to the same point. Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and who ever humbles themselves will be exalted. Whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child shall not enter.

We are almost too familiar with these parables. We hear a Pharisee and a Tax Collector, and we know the Pharisee will be the bad guy and the Tax Collector, forgiven. Instead, hear the parable as CEO of a Fortune 500 Company, holding more patents than they could carry, a self-made individual, a leader in the community. Fill in the blank ENRON's Kenneth Lay, MARTHA STEWART, PARIS HILTON... The error was not wealth or accomplishments, but pride, self-reliance so large they had no need for God. Even now, after each has been caught and tried and paid, still each has not yet confronted the question of everlasting life.

We have heard this ananlogy of a Camel and the eye of the Needle, and so many reasoned explanations. There was a Gate in the walled City of Jerusalem, so small it was called The Needle's Eye, and travellers had to unpack and pass bundles through, then have camels crawl on their knees to enter. Perhaps symbolizing that we, like the Ruler, have to unburden ourselves of all our responsibilities and burdens before entering the Kingdom of God.

One of my favorites is that rather than trying to force life through the eye of the needle, if we take a step back and gain perspective, looking through the eye, we can reach a point where we could see the rope or the camel fitting trough the eye of the needle.

Or times, that this story is linked to what comes later, at the end of Chapter 18:35-43, the young ruler became sad for he was very rich. And later, as they drew near Jericho, a bind man was sitting by the roadside as Jesus came near. The man cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus did. Could the rich young ruler have actually given away all he had, and still recognized because of birth, education, relationships and responsibilities, he was still blind to the innocence of being a newborn, a creature of God? And this was the man who asked for Jesus healing, and received it.

Ultimately, all we can know, beyond all the reasoning and explanations, is that with us on our own, there are still things that are impossible. But with God nothing is impossible.

This week circumstances happened that we wound up with a Funeral and a Wedding both the same afternoon, and while able to be accomplished, I found myself RUSHING between the two, and with Marriage and Death that is the one thing we cannot do.
We tend to imagine, Grandpa was in his 90s, he had this disease and this ailment, he had been in the hospital, he died, so we had the funeral and graveside, now we get over it...and get on with life. But no. According to Old Testament tradition, only if we actively name the person as precious to us for at least two years, can we be ready to move on. If we do not, we bottle up our unresolved feelings and fears of death, until they manfest in another way.
We imagine getting dressed to the nines, tuxedoes and gowns, flowers and rings, and music making a wedding. There were NINE Bridesmaids and nine Groomsmen, Roses and Autumn Leaves, the Maid of HONOR regularly wore four rings and was given by her sister the Engagement Ring, as well as the Wedding Ring. At the appointed moment, she became confused as to which was the wedding ring, so took off all six and handed them to the minister. It's not about having rings on your fingers and bells on your toes, not even about the License, or the Saying the Vows RIGHT, marriage is developed over a lifetime with sacrifices and shared experiences and sometimes forgiveness.

The wonder of this feast, at this Harvest Season, is that COMMUNION is not only between each of us and God, and Each of us with each other, but also withh all those who have gone before, the Communion of Saints in Everlasting Life.