January 16, Annual Church Meeting and Potluck Dinner, Ecumenical Sunday

Lesson: Matthew 18.1-5

Sermon Title: Who Is the Greatest?

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INTRODUCTION:

Christine Oscar, pastor of St. Mary's Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, tells this story of her four-year-old niece, Alisha: (1)

One day while babysitting, I fixed them their favorite lunch of burritos and apple juice.

As I left the room, I heard four-year-old Alisha begin to celebrate communion with her lunch items. She seemed to have memorized the words of institution quite well, except when it came to the cup.

She was heard to say, "And Jesus took the cup, and he blessed it, and he gave God thanks for it, and he said, 'Fill it with Folgers and wake 'em up!'"

  1. It was in a Congregational Church.

    1. The lesson for the morning was John 3.1-10

    2. The lesson covers the conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus.

      1. Listen to the conversation:

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.

He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God."

Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above."

Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?"

Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from above.' The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?"

Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

      1. Jesus is talking about water and the spirit, baptism and conversion.

    1. After the service some commented that they had never heard a sermon on the passage before.

      1. They were life-long members of the church and had not heard a sermon on John 3.1-10, and verse 16.

      2. I wondered why?

  1. This introduction has a direct bearing on the nature, purpose, and outcome of the discussion between the disciples and Jesus.

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MAIN BODY:

  1. The disciples are engaged in a destructive and disingenuous debate.

    1. I use disingenuous with a purpose.

    2. It means not straightforward or candid, but insincere or calculating.

Professor David Cannadine, Director, Institute of Historical Research, England exemplifies it in this sentence:

"an ambitious, disingenuous, philistine, and hypocritical operator, who...exemplified...the most disagreeable traits of his time"

      1. I do not know to whom this was applied.

      2. In looking it up on the internet, I find many people have applied this definition to many people

    1. They were arguing about who was going to be the greatest

      1. It is an age-old question.

      2. Nathaniel Hawthorne sought to answer the question in 1852-52 when he wrote: "The Great Stone Face."

        1. He wrote about Ernest who ultimately resembles the Great Stone Face.

        2. Ernest has a conversation with the last of the four to come on the scene who are declared to be and are not.

"You hoped," answered the poet, faintly smiling, "to find in me the likeness of the Great Stone Face. And you are disappointed, as formerly with

Mr. Gathergold, and

Old Blood-and-Thunder, and

Old Stony Phiz.

Yes, Ernest, it is my doom. You must add my name to the illustrious three, and record another failure of your hopes. For--in shame and sadness do I speak it, Ernest--I am not worthy to be typified by yonder benign and majestic image."

    1. Jesus is coming into his kingdom.

      1. The question is who are going to be the important officers:

      2. In our own time we might look to:

        1. Secretary of State

        2. Secretary of Defense

        3. Attorney General

        4. Education

        5. Homeland Security

        6. Education

        7. Etc.

      3. The disciples have hopes and dreams, misguided though they be.

      4. The disciples recognize that there are a privileged few, and they want to be among them.

    2. So they are arguing and contending with one another for the best places.

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  1. Jesus answers their question with a graphic illustration and commentary on who is to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

    1. Jesus calls a willing child and places the child in their midst.

      1. This is not an infant.

      2. The child is not a teenager.

    2. He tells the disciples that unless they change and become like a child, they cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

      1. You must be born again.

      2. It sound like the conversation with Nicodemus only with different people and at a different time.

    3. Jesus adds: Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

  2. So we need to examine and understand the characteristics of children.

    1. This is not childishness, but childlikeness.

      1. Childishness is fickle, foolish or immoral.

      2. What does it mean to be childlike?

    2. Childlikeness is

      1. innocent

A Sunday school teacher of preschoolers was concerned that his students might be a little confused about Jesus Christ because of the Christmas season's emphasis on His birth. He wanted to make sure they understood that the birth of Jesus occurred for real.

He asked his class, "Where is Jesus today?"

Steven raised his hand and said, "He's in heaven."

Mary was called on and answered, "He's in my heart."

Little Johnny, waving his hand furiously, blurted out, "I know, I know! He's in our bathroom!!!"

The whole class got very quiet, looked at the teacher and waited for a response. The teacher was completely at a loss for a few very long seconds.

Finally, he gathered his wits and asked Little Johnny how he knew this.

Little Johnny said, "Well...every morning, my father gets up, bangs on the bathroom door, and yells, "Good Lord, are you still in there?!"

    1. humble

Marsha Bishop tells a story about her pre-school children: (2)

"I drove a route regularly for Meals on Wheels, primarily in a housing project in Dallas. One day the sitter didn't show so I had to take them with me. I scooped up several old magazines for the elderly people on the route and off we went. At first, the boys were a little hesitant, but after several stops, they were enjoying themselves immensely.

"There was one older woman on the route, though, who was a real pain in the neck. She had broken her hip and the experience had apparently soured her toward everything and everyone. If there was nothing to complain about, she'd bark out, 'Just put the meal in the refrigerator, I'll get to it later.' I tried to talk with her once or twice, but she was so rude, it was hard to be nice.

"Garnett, who was 5, picked up a couple of magazines and said, 'I'll bet she will really like a magazine.' (Fat chance, I thought.) Then Andrew, who was only 2, wanted something to carry. I handed him the milk, but not satisfied, he stopped and picked a couple of dandelions.

"I knocked on the door. The cranky voice said, 'You're late today. Come on in, it's unlocked.'

"I opened the door and the boys pushed past me and ran to the woman. 'We bought you some neat magazines, see?' Garnett fairly shouted.

"'I brought something too,' chirped Andrew, practically falling into her lap with his two bedraggled dandelions. I apologized for their rambunctious behavior.

"Garnet romped down the stairs, and I turned to take Andrew's hand. 'Bye-bye,' he said, waving. I glanced back at the woman.

"She had pulled herself up, clutching the two dandelions in the hand that held onto her walker and was waving with the other. The bitter expression on her face had melted into a smile that brightened the tears rolling down her cheeks.

    1. teachable

A British father wrote that when he was on an outing with his family, his wife implored their daughter Molly to hurry up because there was "no time to stop and blow dandelions." (3)

In response, Molly raised what may be for a child--perhaps for all of us the major philosophical issue of the life.

"Mummy," she said, "what is time for?"

    1. adaptable

Children have a lot more savvy than we think. Here is an exchange described by Margaret Donaldson: (4)

Callum (age 4): "Is God everywhere?"

Mother: "Yes, dear."

Callum: "Is he in this room?"

Mother: "Yes, he is."

Callum: "Is he in my mug?"

Mother (growing uneasy): "Er-yes."

Callum (clapping his hand over his mug): "Got him!"

    1. simple.

A man was seated on a park bench when a small lad about 5 years old sat down and started winding what appeared to be a prized possession - a Mickey Mouse watch.

"What a neat watch! Does it tell you the time?" The stranger asked.

"No, you gotta look at it," said the boy.

    1. trustful

      1. All of these illustrations exhibit a level of trust.

      2. Trust in one's self and trust in others.

 

  1. These are the characteristics of childlikeness.

    1. The characteristics that we are encouraged to acquire.

    2. Is there any question that we must be born again, and again, and again!

    3. However the rewards are worth it.

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CONCLUSION:

  1. John D. Lane, illustrates what it means to be a child of God. (5)

The Emperor Franz Josef, who died in 1916, was the last of the great Hapsburg rulers. He lay in state in his magnificent palace in Vienna, surrounded by exquisite floral arrangements, sumptuous fabrics, jewels and gold.

On the day of the funeral, his body was taken to the church in an exquisite hearse drawn by magnificent matched horses. The pallbearers removed the casket from the hearse, and brought it to the locked doors of the church.

One of the emperor's attendants knocked loudly on the door, and a voice came from within: "Who goes there?"

"His Majesty Franz Josef Emmanuel Hans, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, Head of the Hapsburgs."

Came the reply from within: "We do not know him."

A second time the emperor's attendant knocked loudly on the door, and a voice came from within: "Who goes there?"

"His Majesty Franz Josef Emmanuel Hans, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, Head of the Hapsburgs."

Came the reply from within: "We do not know him."

A third time the emperor's attendant knocked loudly on the door, and a voice came from within: "Who goes there?"

The answer this time was much softer and simpler: "It is Franz, a child of God."

Soon, there was a loud noise as the massive bolts were drawn back, the doors were opened wide, and the interior of the magnificent church was made visible.

The doorkeeper then said, "The Lord welcomes Franz, a child of God. Him we know."

  1. When our times comes, will we be known?

    1. We will be known if we are truly childlike.

    2. We will be known if we are a child of God.

1. Parables, 10 (July 1990) 8.

2. Marsha Bishop "Blinded by a Log," in Bread Afresh, Wine Anew: Sermons by Disciples Women, ed. Joan Campbell and David Polk, (St. Louis, Mo: Chalice Press, 1991), 122.

3. John L. Locke, The De-Voicing of Society: Why We Don't Talk to Each Other Anymore (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998), 172.

4. Donaldson, Human Minds: An Exploration (New York: Penguin Books, 1992), 80.

5. John D. Lane, "No partiality," January 11, 2004, Trinity Church Web Site, trinitystaunton.org.

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