Joyful Sunday to you all. Praise be to God for this is the day He has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! So today was not too eventful for me, but still a wonderful day. I had chosen a Lutheran church at random this morning that was close to campus and I knew I couldn't get lost trying to find it. Turns out, I knew quite a few people there and the ones I didn't know welcomed me with open arms. It was a wonderful church full of friendly welcoming Christians. Mt. Calvary in Brentwood for those who are curious. Anyway, not only was Rev. Castens, my admissions counselor from the seminary there, I guess he is one of the two vacancy pastors. He didn't preach this morning, but the other vacancy pastor who did, gave a great message. Some of the guys from the seminary were also there, and even an old class mate from Seward was there.
I sat next to Ben Riley and his wife. Which if you don't know Ben, I feel sorry for you. He is just one of those guys who you know is full of the Holy Spirit and just has a great sense of humor to top it off. I am sure his wife is just as wonderful, but other than minor chatting I haven't really gotten to know her yet. Those of you from Seward may remember Ben, he graduated at the end of my senior year. He has spent the last three years with his wife in Thailand teaching English and the Bible. Now he is back at the seminary and a first year with me, and I am excited to have him as a class mate and friend.
What I want to talk about today is a joke Ben made during the service that I laughed at and then the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was actually theologically fitting. When the Pastor called for all the children to come up front for the children's message, Ben leaned over to me and said, "See when I am pastor, I am going to have all the children come up for the children's message, but then when it's time for the sermon, I am going to have all the adults come up front and sit around me." We both laughed and then went back to listening to the children's message. It was the story when the disciples asked Jesus who among these is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Now the disciples, being the closest followers of Jesus, expected Him to pick one of them. However, instead Jesus asked a small child to stand in front of Him, and said that every child will be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. He explained that only one as humble as a child can truly trust Jesus. The pastor then when on to tell the child how they are humble because they don't think they are better than they actually are. They realize their limitations on what they can do and what they know, and they trust those who are above them to be leading them right. Just as we need to humble ourselves and completely trust Jesus to be leading us the right way, and never think we know better than God. So it's a great message and actually one pretty easy to convey over to the children.
However, as I sat there and listened to the message, the more I realized Ben's joke really shouldn't be that big of a joke. If we are to humble ourselves to the mind of a child, why couldn't we ask the adults at church to come forward, sit on the floor of the alter, and give them the sermon, just like the children's message? Don't you think that if a Pastor asked the adults to come forward for their message that morning, that the adults would look at each other with confused and wondering faces. They would think the pastor was kidding, and probably think they are too dressed up or too important to come sit on the floor. They might even think the pastor is disrespecting them for implying they need to hear the sermon the same way as the children do. But that's just it, we do need to hear the message the same way the children do. We need to humble ourselves to the point where we don't think we are too good or too important to sit at the feet of God's called servant and just listen to His Word. Look at the story when Mary and Martha had Jesus as a visitor. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus like a child listening to all the stories He had to tell. When Martha got mad at Mary for not helping get everything ready, Jesus tells Martha that what Mary is doing is way more important than getting food or the table ready. Jesus wants us to sit at His feet and listen to every word He has for us. We need to humble ourselves to the mindset of a child, willing to listen and trust ever word our Lord tells us. So I ask you to stop and think about this. If your Pastor asked you to come sit up front to listen to the message, would you be embarrassed and think too highly of yourself to do so, or would you go sit and listen like a child enthusiastic about hearing what the Lord has to tell you through His called servant? Then remind yourself that Jesus Himself picked a child of all people and claimed, this one is the greatest of these. So Ben's joke about treating the adults the same way, not only gave us a good laugh but was actually quite fitting.
Dear Heavenly Father,
We thank you for this glorious day You have given us to go worship You, hear Your Word, and remember that You are always with us. We ask that as You continue to strengthen our faith and help us to grow, You would help us to grow in humbleness. Let us be truly Your children, ready to listen with open ears and open hearts clinging to every word You give us. Through the name of our sustain-er, redeemer, and nurturer, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, One God now and forever more. Amen.
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