God Claims You as a Dependent

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell us about Jesus’s encounters with mothers bringing their children to him (Luke tells us they are infants) and with a man we have come to call the rich young ruler (Matthew tells us he is young, Luke tells us he is a ruler, and all 3 tell us he is rich) who wants to know what else he can do to ensure his place in God’s kingdom. Luke puts these two encounters back to back and wants us to see the contrast between them. An infant could not be more polar opposite in status than a man who was a ruler.

In Jesus’ world, children were deeply desired. Bearing children was how a woman gained her worth, and having a baby was seen as a blessing, especially if it was a boy. But, the baby was not seen as having personhood. Having an infant was like having a calf – good for the economics of the family, but sub-human commodities, without status or rights or valued as an individual. Infants were lower than the lowest people; they weren’t even granted the status of being people yet. Only when they reached the threshold of adulthood would they be welcomed as a part of the community with a place in the social hierarchy.

And these mothers are coming up wanting Jesus to lay his hands on their babies. The disciples are having none of it. They are on their way to Jerusalem, where they are sure Jesus will take his rightful place and establish his Kingdom. Jesus does not have time to waste on shaking hands with nobodies and kissing babies. Back up, give us space, clear the way…Back. Then Jesus stops them. “Don’t block them.” The kingdom belongs to the likes of these. Anyone who doesn’t receive God’s kingdom with the same lack of status that these babies have will never get into it.

It isn’t about innocence or cuteness or their sense of wonder or curiosity or openness. It is about being powerless, without status.

“Hmph, he’s so unworldly and naive,” a ruler in the crowd thinks, “what about those of us who DO have status?” Of course the disciples see him coming and usher him straight to Jesus, “Good Teacher, (might as well flatter him) what must I do to inherit the life of the age to come?” Because, please. I’m not a baby anymore. In fact, I have been climbing the status ladder since I was a kid! I made a name for myself with the local synagogue – keeping the law, going above and beyond to honor my parents. I mean, everybody has always been super proud of me. In fact, I have done very well, and now I am blessed – quite wealthy and well-respected. So, I get that these babies are essential to building a kingdom. They are the future, after all. But, Good Teacher, what is it that I must do to inherit the kingdom? Because surely you recognize that it’s not the same – a man of my status. I wonder if the man expected Jesus to say “You already have – don’t you know – look at you! Way to go!” I wonder if the man hoped Jesus would tell the crowd what a great example he was for them. But that’s not what happened.

Jesus’ reaction seems a little harsh on the surface of it. “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” And then he goes on, “You know the commandments: You shall not commit adultery, murder, or steal; you shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and mother.” But if you put the two parts of Jesus’ response together, you realize that the wealthy ruler has broken the first commandment by calling Jesus ‘Good Teacher.’ He tries to flatter Jesus with an attribute that is reserved for God. The one commandment that has alluded him is “You shall have no other gods before me.”

The ‘one thing’ Jesus requires of him is to get that straight. Leave everything else behind. No safety net. No backup plan. No nest egg. No security blanket. No crutch. Use it to bless others – sell it, give it to the poor – and start a new life, not based on status, a life with “God before everything else.” A life dependent on God.

In 1998, the 210th General Assembly of the PC(USA) adopted two new catechisms. A catechism is a series of questions and answers about what we believe. One was called the “study catechism” with 133 questions and Scripture references for each answer, and the other was the children’s catechism, with 60 questions and answers designed for elementary-aged children. The first question would have startled this guy, “Who are you?”

“Who are you?” The answer? I am a child of God.
“What does it mean to be a child of God?” That I belong to God, who loves me.
“What makes you a child of God?” Hear the wealthy ruler’s question, “What must I do to inherit the kingdom of God?” The answer? What makes you a child of God is grace – God’s free gift of love that you do not deserve and cannot earn.
And the next question I think the wealthy ruler could have written, “Don’t you have to be good for God to love you?” “No. God loves you in spite of all you do wrong.”

So, how are we supposed to respond? It is the next two answers that the wealthy ruler just can’t embrace. He can’t do it. He has so much. I once interviewed an incredibly wealthy person who was making a significant gift to a non-profit. I wasn’t supposed to do the interview, but the person who was supposed to was sick, and I got sent to fill in. I asked the person about their church involvement. “Love my church,” came the answer. “Do you tithe, then?” “Tithe?” “Do you give 10% of your income to the church each year – or would you say over the course of your life you have given 10% of your wealth away? Is that a measuring stick for you in how you decide to give?” I was not prepared for the answer. “Oh, it would be embarrassing to my church if I gave that much. No, I’ve never really thought about giving away that much.”

How are we supposed to respond to God’s grace, to God’s love that we don’t deserve and cannot earn, that love in spite of all the times and all the ways we disappoint and mess up and hurt others and act selfishly and all the other ways we sin? How are we supposed to respond? The catechism gives the same answer as the first of the 10 Commandments: love and trust God with all of your heart. Put God before everything and everyone else. It feels risky, but it is the only way to the ultimate security of the kingdom.

David was in his early 60’s when I met him. He worked in sales; he had all his adult life, and he had done well. His wife did not work. Their children were grown and they had one grandchild on the way. David had always been involved with volunteering with the youth group at his church and going on mission trips. He taught adult Bible study, but he was unhappy. Deeply unhappy. Then he learned that the company that he worked for was closing, and there was a bit of a skip in David’s step. He came to talk with me. I’ve always had this nudge, this sense, that I am supposed to go to seminary. I always pushed it to the back of my thoughts. I had responsibilities – family, mortgage, bills to pay – but now, I could go. What do you think? I was thrilled for David. He talked with his wife, and she said no. She didn’t want to be a preacher’s wife. They were close enough to his retirement that they could just move and sell the house, live frugally, and make it. It didn’t make sense to spend money to go to seminary and then have to depend on finding a job when he got out. He didn’t go. Too much risk.

Kim was in her 50’s. She had raised her one child as a single mom. Now her daughter was grown and had moved out of state. She was active as a leader in her church, but she was lonely. She met a man who was kind to her, thoughtful, attentive. He promised he was going to leave his wife, except that his wife was depressed, and he didn’t want to make it worse. Kim waited. She had the opportunity to go on a mission trip to Guatemala to take mosquito nets to an orphanage and teach the workers there how to improve the hygiene and health of the kids. But he didn’t want her to go. He told her if she went, he would not take her back when she returned. He needed her, and if she went it would prove that she didn’t need him enough. She didn’t go. Too much risk.

He was young, successful, respected. His life was full. He knew something was missing, but he didn’t know what. Jesus says, your life is too full. It is so full that you don’t know who you are. You think these things define you, you think your stuff defines you, you think your good behavior defines you. These babies, they don’t have any stuff to put their trust in, they don’t have any conduct grades to define them. They are completely dependent. You are too. God claims you as a dependent. You are a child of God. Already. That’s what is secure. There is nothing you can do to make God love you any more, and there is nothing you can do to make God love you any less. Don’t put anything or anyone else first in your life. Let everything else go, and come, follow me. Amen.