Seriously: Be Annoying for Jesus! (A Children’s Sabbath Sermon)

Jeremiah 31:27-34; Psalm 119:97-104; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8

(look these up at bible.oremus.org or biblegateway.com)

Friends, today in the life of the church, we observe the Children’s Sabbath, a time to lift up the needs of children in our churches, communities, and world.  This year, the organizers want us especially to raise awareness of the fact that every half-hour in our country, a child is injured by gun violence.

Click here to see a video on the work of the Children's Defense Fund.

I find that an especially difficult reality--as a pastor, as a parent, just even as a decent human being who wants decent, peaceable childhoods for all children everywhere.

We know how most of it happens, we hear about it in the news, whether it happens at school, on the streets, or in their own homes, whether it’s accidental or intentional.  It is very, very hard news to hear.

And I think when we hear difficult realities like this, it can be really hard to see any hope for things to be any different.  It all seems so overwhelming, doesn’t it?  What can be done to really put a dent in a statistic like this?  Is it all hopeless?

Ah.  And while we’re at it, let’s talk about all these special-themed Sundays we’ve been having as good Presbyterians, to raise our social consciousness, in these past several weeks surrounding the Peacemaking Offering.  It all does get a bit overwhelming, doesn’t it, to hear about domestic violence, human trafficking, global warfare, massive poverty, natural disasters, and so forth.  What are we to do with all of that?  Perhaps also as good Presbyterians, we can call on that first “T” in TULIP, that yes indeed, the world seems totally depraved, and I dunno, does it seem like we really can’t begin to do anything to change a whole wide world gone wrong?

I know, I hear ya.  I feel the same way often enough.  I find myself asking in all of this, sometimes even just getting bogged down in the preaching of it all, wondering, “Where is the hope?  Where’s the joy?  Where’s the peace?  Where’s the love?  And, Where’s the good news?”

And then I go home to my kids.  That’s what I do, when I can’t take another minute of bad news.  

My kids, they’re little.  They don’t know a big bad world out there full of danger, like we too-often do.  They’re joyful.  They are hopeful.  They are loving.  Sometimes they’re even peaceful!  But seeing my kids and spending time with them, is always, good news.

Now, I’ll admit as a parent, sometimes my kids are annoying!  Sometimes they’re hanging off my arm saying mommy, mommy, mommy...But it’s generally for good reasons--like they need food or want to cuddle, or just to know something more about this world we live in, because they are imbued with a spirit of wonder.  Sometimes we’re in the car and they’re pointing out the stars or the cows or the beautiful fall leaves, and I remember, God has created a good and glorious world.

And I think when we do spend time with children, even with their persistent questions, we do ourselves recapture a sense of that wonder in the world--we are encouraged, and see everything around us with new eyes again. I find a great deal of hope and joy in those moments.  These moments are reminders of God’s irresistable grace: grace that has the power to overcome all sin, to work in every heart, to bring healing and wholeness even in the midst of pain and brokenness.

And those moments give me the courage to be persistent in this big world, persistent in seeking justice and peace, persistence in showing love in places love is needed, persistence in doing even just the little bits that I can to make a better world for my kids and the kids around me.  I can’t do it all, but I can do something to make the world a better place, that at least in the spaces around me, people might be able to see hope, joy, peace, love and goodness in this world.

In the Gospel today, the widow doesn’t get justice because the corrupt judge finally becomes un-corrupt and sees the light.  She gets justice because she is persistent.  She annoys the judge into doing justice.  Sure, it’s a partial victory of good over evil, but it still counts!  In the Psalm we hear how persistent study of the Scriptures brings sweetness and wisdom into our lives.  In the letter to Timothy we hear Paul telling to be persistent in everything he learned from childhood, not to let go of it in the midst of so many complicated adult realities in this world.  And in Jeremiah we hear that even in the worst of circumstances, God is still persistent with us, still sowing seeds of peace, love, hope, joy, and goodness.  God will be our God, and we will be God’s people.

So, Presbyterians, I realized here I just did preach a sermon on TULIP, and in case you forgot your confirmation classes, let me put it this way:  Yes, there’s some really bad stuff in the world, and to an extent, some of it’s always going to be bad.  And we can’t fix it all.  But God’s grace and goodness, wherever we might find reminders of it--in spending time with children, or seeing it in each other’s faces, or even in the wonder of creation around us--that gives us what we need to persevere as the saints of God, spreading a message of hope, joy, peace, and love, in a world that so often needs it.  Thanks be to God for the children in our lives, in our churches, in our communities, and in our world.  Let us not give up but persevere, that they may know peace and love, and we might know hope and joy.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

And this next hymn, is full of just such childlike wonder about our world.  I think you’ll enjoy it, it’s called God, the Sculptor of the Mountains.

Prayer Requests:

For children everywhere, that they may live in peace, surrounded by love, filled with hope and joy, and that we may find ways to help them to do so.
For all who work with children, be they parents and grandparents, teachers or childcare providers, that they may have passion and patience in all they do.