Epiphany 1 Service
Mark 10:13-16
And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.
Dear Fellow Redeemed:
In our Sunday morning Bible class we have just finished studying the book of Exodus. One of the things that happens in that book (in that Old Testament period) is that God makes such a ruckus on Mt. Sinai in the sight and hearing of the people, that they become terrified. They ask that Moses speak to them from now on on the LORD’s behalf, and that they not hear from God Himself in that way anymore. There has been a point to all of it. God has sent a message to sinners, that they are in a serious situation with Him. They don’t belong in His presence (one of the instructions Moses has been charged with telling the people is that they’re not to even approach the foot of the mountain where God is present; if they touch it they’ll die).
Just hearing something like that might cause you to ask yourself, should I be afraid of God? After all, I’m a sinner too.
Today’s epistle lesson works in an interesting way with our text. St. Paul is telling the Christians in Rome that they shouldn’t do like the people of this world do. As an example of this, he says, Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
Look what’s happening in our text. People want to bring their children to Jesus to have Him interact with them because they recognize that He is at the very least a good and wise and loving teacher (but many probably recognize Him as the one talked about in our Old Testament lesson—the anointed One sent to preach the good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and all the rest of it—the MESSIAH). They love their children. They want them to have whatever Jesus has to give.
One might think this would be all good with everyone in Jesus’ camp. But His disciples jump in front of these parents’ effort to bring their children to Jesus. They rebuke them, it says.
As far as they seem to be concerned, Jesus is as unapproachable to these children as the LORD was to the people at the foot of Mt. Sinai.
It isn’t as much about sinners in the presence of the perfect God in this case, as it is silly, undisciplined children in the presence of the One Who is trying to make a big impression on as many people as possible, for Pete’s sake(!).
One might wonder if the teachers in the Temple in our Gospel lesson were getting over a similar hurdle when it came to the twelve-year-old Jesus. How could this young person be worthy of the time and attention of serious-minded Temple teachers?! Of course, Jesus was an extraordinary child, and a big part of the point of the whole episode was that his hearers be amazed at His understanding and His answers, and that we see it too (we are looking at the eternal Son of God, after all, albeit a youthful version of Him).
The episode of Jesus welcoming the children in our text is the ultimate demonstration of the difference Jesus makes in the relationship between sinners and God.
Mt. Sinai demonstrates the distance that sin has caused. Terror in God’s presence is part of it (you recall, that, post-sin Adam and Eve had hidden from God among the trees of the garden). What could close the gap, heal the divide? How could sinners approach the perfect God in confidence…again?
When God’s people of a certain time were sorrowful, regretful over their sins that caused them to be taken captive to Babylon (physically apart from His special presence for them in the Jerusalem Temple), the prophet’s words in our Old Testament lesson spoke of the One Who was coming in the future, Who would bring God’s comfort to them. His coming would be good news to the poor in spirit (those who recognized their sinfulness and their need). His coming would bring peace to their hearts. It would bring their redemption from Satan, who was holding them as prisoners, apart from their God (“to save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray,” we’ve just been singing). It would bring a hope out of despair, an eternal restoration of their relationship with God (“Peace on earth, good will toward men”).
The One Who brings all of that is the one the parents are coming to in our text. Notice something? They aren’t afraid of Him. Their children aren’t either. That divide that had been so prominent at the foot of Sinai, that prohibition that kept sinners away for fear of death; it isn’t there for those who are approaching Jesus. He preaches the good news with words like this: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matt. 11:28). He shows it in words like in our text: “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.”
The vibe couldn’t be any different than it was at Sinai. It’s because in this One Who welcomes and blesses the children (and all others who come to Him), the sins that brought separation are done away with, paid for entirely.
Think about what it means in our Gospel lesson when Jesus says: “Didn’t you know I had to be carrying out My Father’s business?” That was part of the lesson in that whole thing for Jesus’ parents. Yes, God had put His eternal Son in their household, and them over Him as parents in this world (and we see in the last part of the text that He obeyed them perfectly; He was the best child any child could be); but at a certain point He had other business to attend to. In addition to His perfect obedience, He was heading willingly in the direction of a cross and grave so that He could be to sinners the God Who is approachable to them in confidence, in joy, in peace.
He is approachable like that for you too, you know. It isn’t outrageous to ask the question, Should I be afraid of God? To do so recognizes the seriousness of your sins. God wasn’t being overly dramatic at Sinai. Things really are that dire.
The distance our sins had caused between us and God was real. In fact, it was so real, that God couldn’t just declare it to be okay. It took blood—perfect, sacrificial blood.
It took charging with your sin of thinking more highly of yourself sometimes than you should (and all your other sins)—charging it to the One Who humbled Himself even to the point of death on a cross. He was made the one Who thought of Himself more highly than He should. He was the one who paid for your sin. It was held against Him. It was considered as if He had done it and not you.
That’s the good news that He preaches to the poor. It’s good because God has forgiven you for every sin. It’s good because there is no more Sinai for those who are in Him. The terror of the Law is gone. He has kept it in your place. He has died to pay your price. You approach God now, in confidence like the parents bringing their children to Jesus to receive from Him the mercy and blessing that He rejoices to give.
When you come up for communion today, think of yourself as approaching that gracious God that you see in our text. He says, Let this person come to me—this child— who has been baptized into My death, who names him or herself among my followers, who proclaims to the world in receiving this Sacrament, that I am his or her Lord and Savior. Hear Him saying, The kingdom of God belongs to this sinner who in Baptism was covered in My righteousness, so that he or she is one of the citizens of heaven. You receive His kingdom like a child because you simply, trustingly believe His Words.
You believe Him in what He says in the Sacrament as well. This is My body, which is given for you. This is My blood which is shed for you for the remission of sins. Nothing to be afraid of in those words. There is no barrier anymore, that prevents you from coming into God’s presence with all boldness and confidence. He is your Savior. You are His own dear child. You are forgiven of your sins. He has made peace with you in the blood of Christ. Amen.
Isaiah 61:1-3
The Spirit of the Lord God is on Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.
Romans 12:1-5
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—which is your reasonable service. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
St. Luke 2:41-52
Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When He was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. After the Feast was over, while His parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking He was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for Him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find Him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for Him. After three days they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard Him was amazed at His understanding and His answers. When His parents saw Him, they were astonished. His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for You.”
“Why were you searching for Me?” He asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be carrying out My Father’s business?” But they did not understand what He was saying to them.
Then He went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.