Cherished Children and Straying Sheep

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.  

What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.

In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.” (Matthew 18: 10-14, NIV)

In today’s Lectionary Gospel reading, Jesus talks about children and sheep. This particular passage is part of a larger conversation that He was having with His disciples about who would be considered great in the Kingdom of Heaven, and naturally Jesus called a child over and turned the disciples’ expectations upside-down. (Matt. 18: 1-7)

Children weren’t considered great in 1^st century culture, by any means; they were a financial burden, uneducated and inexperienced, and needed to be protected and cared for. Children were on the lowest rung of the social hierarchy ladder in Roman culture. Jesus is essentially telling his disciples that they need to become the lowest of the low, in order to be considered great in God’s kingdom.

Jesus reinforces that concept with an example of sheep. While sheep were common and provided a way to make a living (by selling wool, meat or milk) even by farmyard standards sheep certainly aren’t considered great or glamorous. They’re noisy, they smell, they’re not very bright, and they bite. However, in God’s kingdom, even one straying sheep is worth going after!

 

I’m sure that the disciples didn’t want to think of themselves as children or sheep. But once again, Jesus was trying to get the point across that those who follow Him have to humble themselves. Just asking the question of who would be greatest proves that the disciples didn’t get it yet.

I have always been of the opinion that children “get it” far more easily than adults. Kids just seem to have an innate sense of who God is; that He loves them, and that they are precious in His eyes. They are often talked out of it as they grow older, but a little child’s perception of - and faith in - God is often rock-solid.

When my son was about three, he came bounding into my bedroom one morning and announced, “Jesus was in my room! He had on a white bathrobe.” Very matter-of-fact; no doubt whatsoever. My son was certain that Jesus was physically in his bedroom that morning. And we both thought that was pretty cool.

So maybe that’s what Jesus was referring to. Maybe he was trying to let us know that having a rock-solid, unwavering faith is something that shouldn’t be looked down upon. It isn’t something to dismiss as cute. It isn’t something anyone should be talked out of. It’s something to be cultivated and encouraged – especially in children! After all, “their angels in heaven” are apparently keeping an eye on this kind of stuff, and Jesus shouldn’t have to go racing down the hill to find them, if they wander off.

Either way, this is Lent.  Lent has traditionally been the season for remembering to humble ourselves before God. (Of course, we ought to be humble everyday, not just during Lent, but bear with me here.) For the next couple of weeks, I challenge you to imagine yourself as a cherished child, and as a sheep with a tendency to stray.  Humble yourself before God. Get back in touch with your child-like faith, and cultivate it. Spend time with the Holy Spirit - through scripture and in prayer – and really listen for the voice of the Shepherd. What is He saying to you?

Love. No, really. Love.

It’s Valentine’s day! Because it’s Valentine’s Day, I thought it appropriate to write about love. However, this left me wondering exactly which angle to take. It would be WAY too easy to just spout out some drivel about romance, it being Valentine’s Day and all.  And the blogosphere has already been inundated with the love vs. sex debate, thanks to Fifty Shades of Grey. I’m not even tempted to go there. I want to go deeper; to really delve into what love is. What, I asked myself, does love really look like?

Being a pastor, I naturally went to the Bible for answers. The Apostle John seemed like the most obvious choice for answers on love, as he wrote about it a lot.  He used the word at least 57 times in his Gospel alone. Add to that his 3 letters and the book of Revelation, and....well, John wrote a lot about love.

In his first letter, John wrote, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (v. 4:8)

According to the Gospel of John, chapter 15, Jesus told his disciples:

·        As the Father has loved me, I have loved you. Now remain in my love. (v. 9)

·        My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. (v.12)

·        Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (v.13)

·        This is my command: Love each other! (v.17)

Seems pretty clear. We’re supposed to love one another. In church camp we used to sing, “They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love...” Of course, that still begs the question then – what does love look like?

I do not think love looks like what our culture insists it looks like – fabulously wealthy, sexy people with pouty lips having babies, then posing and selling the photos for millions of dollars to magazines.  (Sorry, Kim and Kanye.)

Love isn’t about candy hearts and chocolates and flowers – although those things are, indeed, lovely – nor is it about telling someone that they are “your valentine” on the one day a year that Hallmark has reserved for it.

And while I’m on the subject, none of those things have anything even remotely in common with the original Saint Valentine, who was martyred in the year 269 AD, by the Emperor Claudius. Valentine, apparently, was a Christian priest in Rome who protected other Christians and hid them from the Emperor’s interrogators.  Since professing Christianity and aiding fellow Christians were crimes, Valentine was arrested, imprisoned, beaten with a club, stoned with rocks, and finally beheaded for his stubborn refusal to recant his faith.  Not very loving.

Valentine was canonized by the Catholic Church and (for reasons that elude me) was made the patron saint of love, marriage, engaged couples, epilepsy, and plague. (Yes, you read that correctly. Plague!)

What that has to do with chocolate, candy hearts and flowers, I don’t know, but I suppose it’s better than “Happy Valentine’s Day – have some plague.”

But I digress.

So, what does love look like? A researcher asked some children what love looks like. Their answers are rather thought-provoking.

·        "Love isn't always how you look.  Look at me.  I'm handsome like anything and I haven't got anybody to marry me yet."       - Brian, age 9

·        “When you tell someone something bad about yourself and you're scared they won't love you anymore, but then you get surprised cause not only do they still love you, they love you even more."   - Madison, age 7

·        “Love is when Momma goes bungee jumping and Daddy goes with her even though he screams bloody murder the whole time like a girl.”  - Sasha, age 8

·        "When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."     - Rebecca, age 8

·        "When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth."   - Ashley, age 4

·        "Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."           - Jason, age 5

When I was a little girl, I insisted that I loved everyone in the entire world. I remember feeling very comfortable and happy about this. However, someone told me, “You can’t love everyone. That’s impossible.”

I was crushed.

I truly believe that’s what God wants for His children – that we will love everyone in the entire world, just as God does! Jesus was pretty clear when He said, “Love each other!”  

Every human being on the earth has value. Every human being is loved by God, and is worthy of being loved! To extend compassion and respect and kindness to everyone – regardless of where they live, what they do for a living, what language they speak, who they love, or what they believe – is commanded by God. “Jesus replied, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength... and love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matt 22: 37, 39)

It isn’t up to us to find a loophole.

Jesus prayed that his followers would be one, just as He and the Father are one (John 17:21-23) and that we would experience unity. If we are truly “one,” that infers that we ought to love others as God loves us.

We aren’t doing a very good job of that. Don’t believe me? Turn on the news. How many people have been killed or abused or gone hungry today? I rest my case.

I do think that it is still possible for Christians to love everyone as God does. Maybe I’m just a raging optimist, or maybe I’m certifiable, but I remember that huge feeling of warmth and goodness, compassion and peace, and...well, love...  that completely filled my heart for the people of the world back when I was little. And I still have that feeling.  Not necessarily all the time, but I still feel it.

I felt it when Malala Yousafzai demanded that girls have the right to go to school despite threats from the Taliban. The feeling intensified when Malala was shot in the head, and again when she not only recovered, but addressed the UN General Assembly.  I felt it when I heard about the earthquake in Haiti, and watched on TV as the dogs ran over the rubble, searching for survivors. I feel it whenever there is a hurricane, or typhoon, or flood, or tornado, and people race in to help. I feel it every time I see a photo of the teeming streets of Delhi, or Beijing, or Rio de Janeiro.

I feel it when I watch children playing. I feel it when I visit the residents of the nursing home. I feel it when I see strangers smile on the street. I feel it when I hear music from faraway places. I feel it as I watch the Olympic Games on TV this week. And when I feel that feeling, I just want to wrap my arms around the world.

So. What does love look like? The only way to really know for sure is to look in the mirror.