 |
| To see who we truly are we need the vision of a child (and yes, I am shamelessly using a pic of my own child). |
This
Sermon was preached at St. John’s Church, Decatur, AL during the Wednesday
Evening Eucharist on July 18, 2018. The sermon was inspired by the following
passages from Holy Scripture:
“You are so infantile!”
is not typically a compliment. In fact, usually that phrase gets thrown around
as an insult. Being “childish” often gets even children in trouble. We as a
culture want nothing more than to grow up. So, why is it that Jesus thanks God
for hiding “these things from the wise and the intelligent and [God has]
revealed them to infants”? What is Jesus talking about—what things are hidden
from the smart but revealed to earth’s newbies?
To understand what Jesus
said, we must take a look at where his earthly mission had recently taken him.
Jesus had been on a tear! He’d been healing and teaching and all the while
revealing the Kingdom of God to those that were bold enough to follow him. His
renown grew in all of Israel. People shared what Jesus was doing so much that
even John the Baptist in prison heard about it. John’s followers sought out
Jesus to discover if he was the one whose way John had been preparing. Instead
of giving a straightforward answer, Jesus pointed to all that was being
done—the blind receiving sight, the lame walking, the lepers becoming clean,
the deaf hearing, the dead living, and the poor hearing good news!
As John’s disciples
left, Jesus spoke glowingly of his forerunner, but he lamented that no one really
heard John’s message. And what was more, no one listened to what Jesus was
speaking. When John came people said he was too harsh and when Jesus came they
said he was too joyous and accepting. Even through all of the deeds of power
that Jesus did the people could not see who he was. With all of the bountiful
spiritual fruit Jesus produced the people were not satisfied. They were
essentially dead to what he was doing, which brings us to today’s Gospel
lesson.
Even though Jesus had
been pointing to God through his words and teachings, his thoughts and speech,
his deeds and actions—even though with everything he was and did he pointed to
God—not many saw to whom or to what he pointed. They missed it. Children though
are different. Infants are different. They do not have prejudices,
preconceptions, and prejudgments. They are open. Their vision is pliable. They
are playful in engaging the world.
God’s gracious will was
to hide the greatest wisdom from those who are puffed up by their sense of ego,
knowledge, or status. Instead, God hid signs in the everyday and they point
directly back to God. That’s what Jesus was inviting others to see. Through his
healings he was pointing to something larger—that the created order was about
restoration and wholeness. Through his teachings he was pointing to something
more profound and at the same time more simple—that all are welcomed as God’s
children. Through his ability to overcome death he was pointing to the most
important truth—that God’s love conquers every disconnect, every sin, and even
dying itself. Still somehow people missed that, and sadly we miss it too.
Through these words we
are challenged to see through the eyes of an infant. We are called to be
infantile, childish, and immature, but not by regressing. No, Jesus is inviting
all who have ears to hear into a second childhood. Some call this state being
reborn, but I prefer another term, second naiveté. What does this mean? To
better understand this let’s look at the analogy of a journey.
It is all too easy to
be thrown off our path in the middle of our lifelong pilgrimage. Often getting
thrown off the path is a good thing. It’s a chance to learn and grow. There are
moments when we use a self-defense mechanism to get through a tough time. This
is a good thing—it helps us make it through a difficult wounding. However, if
we get stuck using this self-defense mechanism too often or for a troublesome
part of the journey that it will not really help, then we may get discouraged
or worse. We may become cynical, burnt out, depressed, anxious, or otherwise
disenchanted with the beauty of this life. This is where so many who have heard
Jesus but did not listen to him get off track, and where we need second
naiveté.
To see the world not
through the prism of defensiveness, skepticism, or cynicism requires us not to
regress to childish behavior, but to reclaim the essence of who we were as
authentic children of God. Who are we really? Who are you really? Who did God
make you to be? What gifts and talents do you have? What’s your place in this
world? These are all helpful questions in recovering that genuine part of us
that Jesus yearns to draw out of us. For when we see with the vision of an
infant we do not expect the worst in people, but rather see them as other ones
to play with, laugh with, and learn from!
Jesus, right after this
passage, says some of the most inviting words in Holy Scripture. They are words
that call us deeper into life with Jesus and seeing from God’s “child-like”
vision. “Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle
and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy
and my burden is light.” This invitation is a blueprint into finding our true
selves.
Jesus invites us to put
down the burden of thinking that we are important (i.e. egoic thought). He
calls us to rest in our real selves. He gives us the work of being who God
truly calls us to be. Children who see that everything points to God through
the neon-bright sign that is Christ. You are God’s child, now start acting like
one by actually being one!
No comments:
Post a Comment