Latest / Belin Memorial UMC / Rev. Will Malambri - "Out of the Mouths of Babes"
Transcript
- Belin Memorial UMC: Here now, this reading from the Gospel according to Matthew in the 12th 21st chapter beginning with verse 12. Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple. And he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. He said to them, it is written my house should be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers. The blind and the lame came to him in the temple and he cured them. When the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did and heard the children crying out in the temple, Hosanna to the son of David, they became angry and said to him, do you hear what these are saying? Jesus said to them, yes. Have you never read out of the mouths of infants and nursing babes? You have prepared praise for yourself. He left them, went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there. This is the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. Every Palm Sunday we read the triumphal entry story, recalling that during it out came palm branches, a sign of victory. Down went cloaks, deferential action. On the donkey sat the Messiah, a visual reminder of Jesus' meekness, that he came to bring peace, not war. Echoing through the streets up to the halls of power went the chant Hosanna to the son of David a hopeful statement that put the city into turmoil as the uncertain unmoved and unwilling to relinquish power asked who is this? Who is this? A question that Jesus followers should be prepared to answer. I hope you're thinking about what you might say. ⁓ I know people around here would be too embarrassed to ask who is Jesus. So they learn about him in discrete ways. A glossy magazine in the grocery store aisle. Documentaries and historical fiction on television screens. Some version of who Jesus might have been. The best version, of course, comes from someone they trust and respect, someone who doesn't just talk about being a follower of Jesus, but is one, someone who lives their hosannas rather than restrict them to chanting once a year. Hope you'll give some thought to what you might say if someone dared ask you, who is this Jesus? The triumphal entry scene from the start of the week that ended with Jesus' crucifixion gives you plenty to say. Jesus is humble enough to ride a donkey. Seeking peace, not war, seated lowly and accessible to the people, not towering above them in a show of force and intimidation. He's willing to ride along as the poor and the shoved aside and the desperate hope in him pray that he will be the one to save them. Hosanna. Praising him on his way to confront injustice on their behalf. knowing full well that to do so will cost him his life. He's the son of David. The Messiah among us, he's a prophet, a spokesperson for God, the Father coming as God, the Son. He is so committed to the purpose of the temple that all should have access to God, that he's unwilling for it to be a place of limited access, a safe haven for those who would purvey injustice. Jesus made space for the lame and the blind and the poor and the sinful and the Gentile. even if it meant pushing out those who would only keep that space for themselves. So yes, Jesus tossed from the temple complex those who wanted it to be a den of thieves. Yes, he overturned tables making a scene. And then, and how often have I overlooked this? Right after he turned over those tables, Jesus healed. The lame and the blind at the time. For all of us who have tried to justify our fits of rage as being aligned with Jesus' righteous indignation, we should recognize that his anger was that that which prevented communion with God. and was in concert with his acts of mercy and healing. So add that to our descriptions. Jesus is a righteous defender of the true purpose of the temple and a healer of the hurting. All those descriptions are wrapped up in the children's chant as they played around the temple, Hosanna to the son of David. what they heard in the streets, what their parents had said earlier in the day now came out of their mouths. And it was truth that not everyone was ready to hear from children. When I was a child, my father would often say, out of the mouths of babes. I think it was the scripture he quoted the most. He never told me it was from the Bible. I had to learn that on my own. But he'd say it whenever he thought his children had said something that adults didn't want to see. The adults may have missed. And now as an adult, one who is trying to follow Jesus, I understand more clearly. there are truths that we adults are hesitant to speak. or are too compromised to be clear on. or won't acknowledge because of what it might cost us. Then along comes a child who just says it. What do they have to lose? They hear stories of the past, water fountains segregated by race. and children who could not play alongside other children. They hear stories from today about children being separated from their parents. that they get some idea that what makes life a little more convenient today could be costing them the planet of the future. And they don't hymn and haul. Well, it's not ideal, but there are reasons. They just say it. That's wrong. That has to change. out of the mouths of babes. ⁓ Sally tells me that when she taught her second graders, and they'd hear these stories about children who couldn't be friends with other children simply because of the color of their skin, with tears in their eyes, her students would reach over and grab the hand of the child beside them. They would literally live out the dream that one day little white children and little black children would hold hands. Children crystallize what we make opaque. How many times have parents anxiously approached their child to break the sad news? Their pet, their grandparent, someone they love has died. Only to hear the child say, I'm sad. I'll miss them. But they get to be in heaven with Jesus. We should be happy for them. And sure, they haven't experienced enough of life to know how long-lasting our grief is, but they have learned what we have tried to teach them. They've learned that there is life beyond this life because of Jesus. Out of the mouths of babes. I don't know how fully those children that were dancing around the temple yard chanting Hosanna to the son of David. I don't know how fully they understood what that meant. It is hard to know if they knew that the Messiah was to be born from the line of David. It is impossible to determine if they understood what the Messiah would actually do when he arrived. It's doubtful that they had a nuanced understanding of the historical and theological perspectives of why Jesus as the son of David was worthy of praise and the bringer of salvation, but out of the mouths of babes, they said it. which drove the authorities mad. Because they wanted the children to follow them. What we must determine is who we want the children to follow. who we want to follow. Because who you follow determines how you love. So we should pay attention when we impulsively side with the authorities over the children's chant or Jesus' ways. we should pay attention when the children have said something that we wanted to correct because it was correct and it makes us uncomfortable about how incorrect we have been. Who have we excluded that the children said should be included? And our response was, you'll understand when you're older. whose needs have been neglected so that our wants could be provided for. It was about 10 years ago when our son walked by me when I was in the yard cleaning it up. He'd been getting all kinds of accolades for how he was going and helping pack food for children in our need who were hungry. Adult after adult coming up to me and saying, ⁓ Mac's doing so great with this. So as he walked by me, said, Mac, how is it that you can be so good at helping out the children who are hungry in our community and walk past me when I'm working in the yard? And he called over his shoulder, Daddy, they have to eat. You don't have to have a nice yard. Out of the mouths of babes. It's been nearly 10 years since one of our children said to me, Daddy, I know the United Methodist Church has been good to our family. But if they decide that not everyone can be part of it, then I don't think I can be. Out of the mouse, babes. Seven years ago, our children and their cousins provided a worship service one Sunday morning. We were out in the tiny little church my mother grew up in. We've been part of our family for generations. It was the Sunday after Christmas, so I was off. And so was the pastor of that church. And the church had decided they just wouldn't have a service that day until our children got wind of that. And they decided they would have one and the children were provided. The scripture for that Sunday was when Jesus' parents took him to Egypt, that he could be saved. And our children preach to us about how it's the calling of the Church of Christians to take care of refugees. Out of the mouths of babes. It's not been nearly long enough, perhaps even this past week. since our daughter said to her parents, You're being judgy. Her way of saying, Judge, not lest ye be judged. Out of the mouths of babes. The church does not exist. preserve the comfort of those who are in charge. It's only partially about proclaiming the son of David, saving us from the ways that we have failed to love God and neighbor well. It's mainly about Jesus saving us into loving God and neighbor well. when we the church get that right. then our neighbors will finally learn who Jesus is. to learn what it means that he is the Messiah. They'll come to understand what it means to say and live what came out of the mouths of babes. Hosanna to the son of David. May God make it so.