By Pastor Thanael Certa-Werner
Scripture | Matthew 18:1-9 (NIV)
18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
Causing to Stumble
6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
How many of you have ever attended a party of any kind in your life? I should imagine most of us have as parties are a pretty common thing for human beings. So those of us who have been to a party, the question is what are some ways that can really kill the fun of a party quickly? Things like people double dipping their chips? Music that’s way too loud for anyone to hear each other? Someone showing up wearing the same thing as you? As a former freshmen RA, I know that one thing that used to kill the parties off campus was the cops… but those were entirely different parties. Actually, that kind of party killing is exactly what’s happening to Jesus’ followers at Pentecost.
Today, we look back and remember what happened at Pentecost. The story is that the followers of Jesus are huddled together in a room scared because the Romans and Jewish leaders have just killed Jesus and the thinking of His followers is that if they’ve killed Jesus, they’re likely to want to kill His followers too. So, the followers of Jesus are hiding in a room trying to figure out what to do next. The party that had been the celebration at Passover with the Last Supper, has officially been killed and now they don’t know what to do. But suddenly, the doors burst open and a wind comes howling through that place. Then the Bible describes tongues of fire falling on top of the disciples’ heads and the Holy Spirit, which Jesus had promised them came to dwell in the followers of Jesus
The reason we celebrate that story is because it continues to be true of each of us. We too have been filled with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. At Baptism, we are baptized not just with water, but also by the Spirit. In fact, there are two Baptisms during the service. Baptism is what incorporates – or makes us a part – of the larger body of Christ. On Pentecost, the followers of Jesus who had already been baptized by the waters were now baptized in the Spirit and we continue that tradition to this day – bringing people into the family of Christ by baptizing them with water and the Spirit.
So why then, on a day when we look 2,000 years into the past are we celebrating kids in worship? To understand that, we have to keep in mind what baptism does as we look to our scripture passage for today. According to Matthew, the disciples have come to Jesus with a question. I think it’s likely that they had been bickering as they tried to decide amongst themselves who the greatest of the Kingdom of Heaven was. So, they come to Jesus and ask Him who it is – surely hoping it was they. But Jesus shocks them by calling a child over to Him and saying, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”
What does this mean? Jesus is very cryptic here and it’s hard to truly know exactly what He’s saying here. But what we can clearly see is that children are important to the kingdom of God. As the Body of Christ on Earth, we are called into being what Jesus has taught us. This means that we have a calling as the church to not only welcome the children into our midst, but that they are an essential part of what makes up the church. This is one of the reasons why we baptize children in The United Methodist Church – because they have an important role in the life of the church. Through Baptism, they are added to our community, incorporated into the Body of Christ, and held in Christian Love. They, then, join us in our shared history as people of Pentecost. But the reason we baptize children is more than that. Listening to how Jesus continues, we see how.
“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble!” Jesus is calling His disciples – calling us as parents, as mentors, as fellow believers in Christ – that it is our job, our mission, our vocation, and our calling to raise our children in the knowledge and love of Christ. It is our duty to teach children about Jesus because we are called to support them, uphold them, and by the power of the Holy Spirit – form them in the ways of faith.
This leads us back to baptism. When we baptize anyone, children as well as adults, we make a promise as a church. We vow to, “with God’s help, we will proclaim the good news and live according to the example of Christ. We will surround these persons with a community of love and forgiveness, that they may grow in their service to others. We will pray for them, that they may be true disciples who walk in the way that leads to life.” In other words, we promise to take care of these children that they may not stumble and fall – but that they may walk and grow in faith.
So today, as we celebrate our history as members of the Body of Christ, baptized by both water and spirit, we celebrate our charge to take care of and help form these and any children who come and are a part of our community here. If you are someone who is exploring the Christian faith and want to publicly proclaim that you are a follower of Christ, or have a child and wish to make a public vow to raise this child in the Christian faith, I invite you to talk to me after worship today. This can be the moment when we can talk about what it means to be a Christian, or what it means to raise a child in the faith. I would love to discuss this with you.
But for now, for those of us who are already incorporated into the body of Christ, who share in this history of Pentecost and the baptism of the Spirit, I invite you to cover your phones as you’re about to get wet. (For those of you at home, I invite you to get some water out and sprinkle some on your head. As you do, remember the following:) As I sprinkle you with the waters of baptism, remember that you have been baptized by water and the Spirit, that the Holy Spirit dwells in you, and that you have been given a charge to not just remember the past, but look to the future as we work to raise our children so that they “may be true disciples who walk in the way that leads to life.” Amen? Amen.