Broadway Christian Church ·Columbia, Missouri

Morning Worship ·June 26, 2005

Prayer of the Day

Gracious and Almighty God, we thank you for your eternal presence in our lives.  As we seek to follow in the footsteps of Christ, remind us of ways in which we can approach you with the curiosity, openness, and intuitive sense of love that children possess.  Let us not forget that we are all your children.  Through Christ we pray.  Amen.

Scripture
Luke 18:15-17

People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them.  When the disciples saw it, they sternly ordered them not to do it.  But Jesus called for them and said, “Let the little children come to me and do not stop them.  For it is to such as these that the kingdomof Godbelongs.  Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdomof Godas a little child will never enter it.

Message
Open to Jesus
Jacob Thorne
Youth Minister

Good morning, everyone.  It feels great to be here.  I want to thank everyone for giving me the opportunity to be at Broadway and to be involved in ministry with our youth.  So far, my start at Broadway has been wonderful. 

When I called my parents the other week to talk about my first day at Broadway, I was worried I might have a bit of trouble hearing them and hearing their questions.  You see, on the first official day at Broadway, about two weeks ago today, I went with the youth and several of the adult volunteers to the Crossover Christian Music Festival.  All of the youth, including several of the adult volunteers, assured me that in order to experience the full effect of the concert, it was necessary to stand next to the giant speakers and feel my body vibrate from the pulse of the bass guitars and drums.  I tried wearing some earplugs, but the youth made too much fun of me, so I took them out.  I’m not sure what it all signifies, but I feel confident that starting my youth ministry by attending a Christian rock concert is a good sign of things to come.  My hearing has finally returned to normal.

To begin to today, I want to share with you a little bit about myself, about my experiences growing up in the church, and how today’s text applies to the ministry of Broadway Christian Church. 

Some of my earliest memories are of the church.  As a child, I had a great youth minister named Wally Reed.  Like Jesus, in today’s story, Wally was always welcoming the children.  What I liked about Wally was that he always had a great sense of humor.  One morning when I was four years old, Wally decided he and I should play a small trick on the congregation.  Before church started, Wally spent thirty minutes instructing me to remember three words, “the synoptic gospels.”  He kept saying to me, “All you have to do is to remember to say, ‘the synoptic gospels’.”  Well, of course, I had no idea what the synoptic gospels were or what they represented, but I wanted to please Wally and really do a good job. 

Finally it was time for the children’s sermon.  When it started, Wally sat on the steps, and he said to the congregation, “We’ve been doing some advanced Bible study with the four year olds this year.  Jacob, can you please tell me what the first three gospels are called?”

Well, I calmly raised my hand and said, “The synoptic gospels.”  Everyone was amazed.  I looked over, and the senior minister’s jaw dropped just a little bit.  He had this rather confused look on his face, but Wally just continued on through the children’s sermon as if nothing out of the ordinary had taken place.  No one in the congregation for years knew that Wally and I had spent the last thirty minutes practicing the words “the synoptic gospels.”

So growing up in the Disciples of Christ, I always understood the church as an extension of my family, a place that was warm and friendly, willing to embrace others, concerned about what it means to be brothers and sisters in Christ, and even at times, a place where practical jokes could be played on one another.  Now I keep my eye open for those who will try to play some jokes on me.  I’ve advanced in my being able to be suspicious.

As I grew older and started to have questions about my faith, exploring what it meant to follow in the footsteps of Christ, and trusting in the words of the Bible, the church was always a place I could turn.  As a child, I remember asking my senior minister several questions about my faith, such as “Do animals have rights?”  Instead of giving me a short answer and dismissing my questions, my minister took me seriously and even gave a sermon addressing the rights of animals from a Christian perspective, which had a deep influence in my understanding of the church.

When I went to church camp during the summer like many of our youth are doing right now, I learned different methods of prayer and new ways to share feelings with God. 

When I had the opportunity to work in the church, I learned how exciting it could be to continually ask, “What does it mean to be a Christian in today’s world?”

Something that was really special, which makes it even better to be back at Broadway, is during our senior year at the University of Missouri, my wife, Paula, and I had the opportunity to worship here at Broadway Christian Church and to each lead one of the small groups for the ninth grade boys and girls.  The youth at Broadway forced me to clearly articulate what I believed and understood, which is, of course, an incredibly difficult task.  It is one that caused me to ask even more often, “What is it that I believe?”  Working with these youth who are graduates from high school this year, who were standing up here this morning, made me feel a little old.  They played a significant role in my decision to enter seminary and pursue youth ministry.

Perhaps what I enjoy so much about working with the youth is demonstrated in the story we hear from the gospel of Luke today and from the small groups that my wife and I led three years ago is the willingness of youth to be open and to explore new ideas and opportunities. 

There is no doubt that the gospel of Luke is also full of new ideas.  In fact, Luke is probably one of the most controversial of the gospel writers.  Today Luke might be considered a renegade, a promoter of social justice, and one who challenges people to move beyond their comfort zones.  In Luke, there is a sense of inclusiveness and universalism.  Boundaries of race, religion, social and economic barriers are broken down.  Luke offers salvation to everyone, the poor, the sinner, the Jew, the Samaritans, the Gentiles, and even among the Gentiles, the Romans.

Now you may be thinking to yourself, “All this talk about breaking barriers and challenging others sounds great.  But are any barriers really challenged in Jesus welcoming the children?  After all, this is a story we have all heard growing up in the church.  Children are always reminded of Jesus’ love.  In fact, probably one of the first songs the children learn in the church, and what we heard this morning during the offertory, is the hymn, ‘Jesus Loves Me’.”

If we look closely at this morning’s passage, there is something really radical.  Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me and do not stop them.  For it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”

Those words, “Let the little children come to me,” are extremely important.  Jesus is suggesting to us that the children are the ones who are particularly open to the transforming love and grace of Jesus.  The children are running toward Jesus, seeking Jesus’ touch.

It is easy to overlook this passage, to make Luke’s account of Jesus welcoming the children to appear sentimental.  This passage is far more than sentimental.  This passage symbolizes the openness of children to new ideas and beliefs.  In the chapter before Luke’s story of Jesus welcoming the children, Luke tells the story of Jesus cleansing ten lepers.  Right before we hear Jesus welcoming the children, Luke also tells us the story of the humble tax collector compared to the rich Pharisee.  Here both the tax collector and the Pharisee are praying to God, but Luke stresses that the tax collector, the one who is not commonly welcomed in society, is more humble and authentic in his prayers than the Pharisee.

Where Luke places the story of the children is important in understanding how Jesus and Luke understand children.  After telling stories about lepers, and tax collectors, Luke tells us the story of the children coming to Jesus.  Here the children are not afraid to associate with a person who continually seeks relationships with the outcasts of society.  In the time of Jesus, to associate with lepers and tax collectors would be almost unthinkable.  To be friends with someone who associates with lepers and tax collectors would have been even worse.  In a society that was driven by a class structure from the top to the bottom, one would not want to willingly place themselves at the bottom of the rungs, but these children sense something.  There is something about Jesus that is powerful and drew the children to him.

So what was it in Jesus that made the children so drawn to him?  What was it that the children sensed?  Perhaps the children in this story, like our children today, intuitively sense the wonder and goodness of Christ.  Without preconceived notions of what is correct politically or otherwise, the children were able to seek out the love of Christ.  Maybe the children and their parents recognized the power of Jesus’ touch.

The touch of Jesus, in this story, if often overlooked, but we can’t forget its importance.  In the Bible there are numerous stories about the power of touch.  We remember in the book of Genesis, Jacob tricks Isaac into touching him.  When Jacob is on his deathbed, he calls Joseph, his son, to come to him and to touch him. 

In the New Testament, there are numerous stories of touch.  Just a bit earlier from the story we hear today, Luke tells us that people from Judea, and Jerusalem, and Tyre all gathered to be touched by Jesus. 

Luke recalls how one time a woman who had been crippled and unable to walk for 18 years came to Jesus.  When Luke tells us this story, he says, “When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, ‘Woman, you are set free from you ailment.’  Then he laid his hand on her and immediately she stood up and began praising God.”

Today, the stories of individuals and children whose lives have been changed by the touch of Jesus are no different.  In my experiences as a chaplain, I can recall holding hands with a young boy just moments after his father died from a massive heart attack.  He was crying.  Through his tears he asked for me to pray with him.  I vividly remember the calmness he felt as we asked for Jesus to reach out and give us his healing touch and love.

While many stories are not nearly as dramatic as the boy who just lost his father, today’s children are seeking for ways in which they, too, can be touched by Jesus.  As a youth minister, I have the honor and the privilege to work with youth who continually ask me the deep and meaningful questions about their faith.  Today’s children want to know how they can experience the same touch of Jesus that people experienced more than 2000 years ago.  What the children have taught me over and over and over is that we do not need the physical presence of Jesus to be touched by the love and grace of God.  In order to be touched by Jesus, we must, like those who have gone before us, be willing to be open and to risk new adventures. 

Last year I had the opportunity to work with the youth at Webster Groves Christian Church in St. Louis, Missouri.  One evening at a youth group, we asked the youth to each take a piece of cloth and demonstrate through the use of paint and markers what the church meant to them.  We told the youth to be creative and to do whatever they wanted.  Eventually the goal of the project was to put the pieces of cloth together to form a mural.  Some youth drew pictures of the world and of the cross, while other youth drew pictures of hands folded in prayer.  One piece of cloth that really struck me was a list of questions.  At the top of the list read the words, “What is the church?”  Following this, the list had such questions as “Is it church camp?”  “Is it the long sermons?”  “Is it the prayers?”  “Is it youth group?”  “Is it fellowship dinners?”  “I don’t know, but it is who I am.”

We don’t always know what the church is.  We don’t always know what it feels like to touch Jesus.  But we do know that we must always look toward our youth and others who are on their spiritual journey.  The church must continue to be a place where youth feel safe to ask questions about their faith.  Somehow we must find the strength to recover this wonderful sense of love and intuitive goodness that children and youth possess. 

I believe this summer that the youth of Broadway Christian Church will have meaningful and life-changing experiences, opportunities to work hand-in-hand with other youth from Disciples of Christ churches, from other religions, from various parts of the state.  All of these experiences will enable our youth to grow deeper in their faith and spirituality.  Just as the youth seek to be open to God, we must continue to support them in their journey and be open to God ourselves.

I have truly been amazed by the overwhelming support that Broadway Christian Church has for the youth.  In Luke, Jesus challenges us to recognize that adults can learn from children, just as children learn from adults.  I believe this is a challenge that has already been accepted at Broadway Christian Church and a challenge we must continue and not forget.

In the coming days, months, and years, let us not forget the openness, innocence, and curiosity of children.  Let us pray that God will give us the strength to work with our youth and to grow as a community into the body of Christ.  Let us find ways we can experience the touch of Jesus, both for others and ourselves.

Through Christ we always pray… “Amen.”

Benediction

Jesus, bring us to you as children, open to your teaching, responsive to your love.  Give us hearts that long to climb into your lap and love you.  Amen.