Trinity 8 – Children Coming To Christ

Young Brian, age five, had been told in Sunday school about the famous saint, a “pillar-monk,” named Symeon the Stylite. In case you don’t know, Symeon Stylite was known for living on top of a pole for many years. His food and water were raised up to him. He lived alone only dependent on God. The story of this saint’s approach to holiness captivated little Brian. So the next day, early Monday morning, he decided to imitate Symeon. He placed the kitchen stool on top of the table and climbed to his perilous perch and began his journey toward sainthood. Mother, entering the kitchen, interrupted his holy pilgrimage by explaining, “Brian, get down off that stool before you break your neck.” Brian complied but went storming from the room announcing, “Ah, gee, you can’t even become a saint in your own home anymore.”

Mom was looking out for Brian’s safety. But maybe we do underestimate children sometimes when it comes to their interest in the Lord. The passage normally read at the baptism of a child certainly reminds us of just how much Jesus’ disciples missed the importance of little children coming to the Savior. The same scene is pictured in our westward facing window in the baptismal chapel. It is called children coming to Christ. Actually, it probably follows the incident in Mark 10 where Christ’s disciples attempt to turn back a group of parents trying to bring their young ones to the Master.

The Gospel story records, “And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them” (Mark 10:13). The response of those closest to Christ is horrifying. We’re compelled to try and figure out why they would prevent children from being blessed by Jesus. It seems that children in first century Judaism were not thought to be as holy as those who were closest to the temple. Actually, in the Old Testament when it came to children (and women), they were not allowed to come any closer to the holy place of the temple than the Gentiles. In this sense they were not holy. Perhaps the disciples believed that if children came near to Jesus, then they might somehow contaminate Him.

Whatever their reasoning, the disciples demonstrated once again their incredible lack of understanding regarding Jesus teachings. He had taught that in His presence, all who come near to Him become clean. A hemorrhaging woman had stopped the flow of blood by touching Him. A woman caught in adultery had been forgiven. Peter, James and John had been transfigured by the light of Christ in the presence of Moses and Elijah. Nearness to Christ defined holiness, not the temple any longer. This is why Jesus was so indignant with the disciples’ treatment of those little children. He stated, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it at all” (Mark 10:14-15).

The disciples had completely inverted the standard of holiness. They made adults the standard of faith. Rather, according to Christ, children, not adults, are the model for the road to sainthood. Their innocence, purity and total willingness to trust with total abandon are the stuff of sainthood. In a sense you could say that the road to sainthood begins at Holy Baptism, when Jesus comes to our children for the first inexplicable time. We should all therefore strive to be saints. We should hold up saints to our children and our children to the saints. Every Christian should pick out a favorite saint. I encourage the parents of our children today to help their children find a special saint after whom they can model their lives. Humans need heroes. Saints are the heroic models for Christians. There’s another reason for picking a saint. In Anglicanism, we are taught by the Articles of Religion that we don’t come to God through the saints. We come to the communion of the saints through Christ. Ask Jesus to help that saint pray for their children. And pray that their children will one day become a saint. We must never forget that every saint started out as a child. Therefore, who knows but that one of these children will one day become a great saint. 

The Church believes that one of the characteristics of a saint is the beatific vision, the ability to see Jesus. I suppose that’s why I love our stained glass window of little children coming to Christ. Look at how the artist depicted their faces. They behold Christ. Children really do have that mystical awareness of the presence of God. They talk to Him like He’s very close. That’s because He is. When you stare into the face a little child at Christmas, before the altar or when he/she prays, you’ll see what’s in the back window of our baptismal chapel. It’s Christ’s reflection in the face of a little saint of God. It’s been said, “Save a man and you save a unit; save a boy and you save a multiplication table.” Today through Holy Baptism we’ve not forbidden little ones to come to Jesus. We’ve admitted them into the congregation of Christ’s flock. Now may God help these small souls to multiply into true saints. Amen.