Sermon from Special service celebrating the Children

June 22,  2014

This sermon was given to celebrate during worship the children in the congregation at Grace United Methodist Church in York, PA. The service was expertly planned and executed by my wife, Eimy and Jenn Byers, a friend and active member of the congregation. All that went into the service came from the passion that these two women and so many other people put into the lives of the children in our lives. I thank them from the bottom of my heart. Here is the text of the sermon, but the rest of the service was so much more important that I feel that these words were the least important part of the service. Nonetheless, here they are.

Scripture: Mark 10:13-16

I thought to start this morning with a confession. Do you know what it means to confess something? I know usually you don’t expect the pastor to stand up here and confess. Yet that is exactly what I know I need to do. What makes this confession interesting is that it is not just a confession that I am making to you, but rather one that I am making on behalf of the entire church to you, the future of our church.

You see, our scripture today is a wonderful example of Jesus telling us exactly what the Kingdom of Heaven, what the Kingdom of God is like. And we worship here every week and we believe in Jesus Christ, that he died for our sins, that he was resurrected after three days, that he ascended to heaven and sits on the right hand of God the Father. And we worship Him, but what we have here today is a perfect example of worshipping something and someone we don’t understand. We pretend that our faith is strong and that we are in tune with God’s plan for our lives, that is, until the time comes when changes in life put us in a position where we have to either accept the new and work inside of it, or refuse to accept the new and demand that the world adapt to us and our traditions. Unfortunately, we are guilty of being a bit stubborn and this has, over time, meant that the church, as a whole, has stopped speaking to those who really need to hear what God and what Christ have to offer. We say we care about the younger generation, until it comes time to put our words into actions, then well, we find one reason or another to justify our traditional way of doing things.

So, I want to confess this morning to you, the children of God’s Kingdom. I apologize on behalf of this church and on behalf of the global church. We have not tried our best to include you. We have stood by and demanded that you worship as we do, that you find our music more meaningful, that you enjoy sermons that are somewhat out of touch and fairly boring. We have turned Christ’s church into our church with no regard that soon enough it will be your church and we are doing you no favors with our stubbornness and our inability to see beyond our own wants and desires.

We, and I, am sorry. We have not been who we claim to be. So, there, I’ve said that. But, here’s the thing. We are human. And there is one thing about humans that it is important to recognize. We have limits. We, as parents, for example, have limits to how much we can let you do. We are responsible for you. Your safety and your well being matter to us because we love you and we have responsibility for you, so regardless of the freedom we may want to give you, there are limits to what we can let you do and there are limits to what we can let ourselves do.

Our world, you will find out, is full of limits. There are limits to everything. There are limits to the amount we can eat. There are limits to the amount we can drink. There are limits to the amount of cold or heat that our bodies can take. There are limits to the speed we can drive on the highway. There are limits to the amount of fun things we can buy, regardless of how many fun things we want to buy and do. There are limits! Limits everywhere. Well, almost everywhere. There is one extremely important exception and that is love. Real love is limitless. When you really love someone there is nothing you won’t do, no limit you won’t pass to show that love or to act in that love.

Unfortunately, that kind of love is not as common as we would like. It really exists only in a few places. It exists in some marriages. It exists in some friendships. But, it always exists in the love that parents have for their kids. You see, we love you. Sometimes we don’t always show it the right way and sometimes you can’t see that we are acting in limitless love, but we do love you beyond any limits.

And finally, the love God has for you is limitless. The love God has for all His children is limitless.

The scripture I read this morning tells this story of limitless love. In the verses before the ones I read, Jesus is telling his followers that God never intended for there to be limits to life. God never intended limits on the length of our lives. God never intended there to be limits to our relationships. God never intended there to be limits on how we experience God himself.

You see, in Jesus day, little children were a nuisance. They were to be kept on the sidelines. When something important is going on, the little children are to be led away, so as not to interfere with whatever important business the adults are dealing with. But, Jesus wouldn’t have any of it. Jesus received the children, he hugged them, and he blessed them. Furthermore, Jesus says that in all of this, the kingdom of God is made manifest. Do you know what that means? To make manifest? It means to make totally obvious. To see plainly. To know beyond a shadow of doubt that something is real.

So, in this moment, Jesus says that with these little children the Kingdom of God is real, plainly obvious.

So what does this mean about what God is like? God brings people together. God desires that people who, having once been brought together, ought to stay together. God is the one who refuses to send these “little ones” away. Instead, God is the one who receives and embraces the little ones.

So when we read this passage what we are seeing is the great difference between God and ourselves. We, the human race, have limits. God, thankfully, has no such limitations. When we make promises, when we try to engage each other with nice words, when we make plans, sometimes we go past what our limitations are. Our promises get broken. Our encouragement and engagement of others turns into hurtful words that leave scars that don’t easily heal. Our plans fall through for any number of reasons.

But today, Jesus makes clear that God is not like that! God is the one who, from the very beginning unites, fosters communion. God is the one who brings individuals into community. That is how we got the church. God took us as different individuals, many of us quite unlike one another, and brought us together into communion in the church.

Furthermore, God is the one who enables us not only to bring “little ones” into the world but also to expend our lives in caring for the least of these. In every congregation there are people who take responsibility for children who are not their biological children, but are theirs as an assignment, as a gift of God.

We are, of course, only human. There are limits upon our love -- limits upon our ability to stay with other people, particularly people in great need, and to keep our lives bound to theirs. But this truth must be sent alongside a counter-truth -- the love of God does not have such limits. We try to separate from each other, but God does not separate from us. God has no limits, and especially when we are talking about God’s love.

I began, confessing to you that we, the adults in your lives are not perfect. But, we ask for your patience even when we seem to have none left for you. Be patient with us as we try to live into the people God has called us to be. I plead with you to open your hearts and minds to learn from us all that we have to teach you about life, about love, and about the God who created you and knew you first and who loves you beyond limitation.

And to those who are older children in this congregation, I ask to keep open your hearts and minds to accept these “little ones.” To love them, to support them, to teach them and yes, to learn from them. Jesus saw their very worth, and we must be reminded of that from time to time as well. As we live together as a church, we must be constantly reminded that what we want is not the important thing here. The important thing is our mission. That mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. All that we say and do. Every dollar we spend. Every service we perform. Every act of volunteerism we participate in has to be done towards this goal, this mission. If we are making a decision and the most important aspect of that decision is if it is what We want or what We think will be best, then our intentions need to be questioned because we are not thinking and acting as God calls us to.

Tradition is important and our past we should pass on to our youth, but if we are asking them to be open to our tradition, we must also force ourselves to be open to their ideas, their newness, their pleas to start talking and walking and worshipping with an eye outwards rather than just inwards.

Kids, thank you for showing us today that worship and fun go together more easily than we would like to admit.

A Day in Gonder, Ethiopia

Arriving in Gonder, we are greeted with views of a beautiful city. The air feels cooler and there is more humidity in the air than there was in Lalibella and Axum. Our hotel sits atop a hill and provides us with a beautiful view of the city including the palace compound of King Fasiledes.

In fact, our first stop during our short one day stay in Gonder takes us to this compound. King Fasiledes and his family ruled in the 1600's and 1700's and the compound includes six separate castles, each built by different royals, at different times, and for different reasons. For instance, one of the castles is visibly more humble than the others and this one was built by one of the royals who had a sense of humility and intellectual pursuits, therefore he also built a library next to his humble palace.

It was almost like wandering through a medieval feudal small kingdom. Even though the castles here were not built during what the west traditionally would consider “medieval” they were built at a time when the feudal structure was similar to the feudal structure that was present in Europe during the traditional “medieval” period.

After leaving the palace compound we toured the king's bath-house. This is a small castle-like structure surrounded by a pool that is as deep as the castle is high. During the rainy season, water collects in the pool and there are also structures built in that allow water to be diverted from a local river and into the bath-house. In the present-day, there are bleachers built around the outside and the pool is filled during a certain festival and townspeople come and there is a large celebration with some swimming.

We also visited the main church that was built around the same time. The church was similar to many of the other traditional orthodox churches we have seen. One difference was that upon entering we saw a couple who had just gotten married and were taking pictures in the usual accoutrement of an Ethiopian wedding. Both the Bride and Groom wear white, and have cloaks that surround them. Each wears a distinctive headpiece, resembling a combination of both a crown and a turban.

While visiting the church, I was surprised when a group of three young children came into the church. Normally, when foreigners are present, time is spent answering their questions, taking pictures and asking for alms. However, when the three local children entered, the head Priest immediately paid attention to them, listening to them, talking with them, praying with them and ignoring our presence, allowing us to meander at our own pleasure. This was refreshing. The spiritual journey of the parishioners seemed to be the most important priority for this priest and the children seemed to be much better off in this sense, they were the priority. Is it not Christ who would ignore the needs of the cultures priorities for the sake of those without priority? Is it not Christ who would ignore the rich and powerful in order to show that God favors the poor and the outcast?

I know we say that we focus on the poor fin our churches, but sometimes I feel like that is just something we tell ourselves to make ourselves feel better, especially when many of the decisions we make, many of the plans we strategize about, especially when many of the discussions we have and memories we get nostalgic about in the church are very much a reflection of the opposite of the Gospel's tendency and God's favor of the poor, the lesser, the least.

Videos from Ethiopia

Views of the Castle of Fasiledes in Gonder, Ethiopia

Another view of the Castles of Fasiledes in Gonder

We passed a wedding party on the road around Gonder. Very different from what we would see in the USA so I wanted to put it here for everyone's enjoyment. Weddings are joyful experiences, so maybe we should expect them to be jubilant enterprises.

An amazing place. This "primitive village" is actually the housing for a seminary of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The students live in the huts - five per hut - and share everything amongst them equally. They live here for a few years.

Finally, a video of some monkeys we saw on the road outside Bahir Dar. Cute video, especially for my kids. I love you Ian and Mia!!! See you soon!!!

A few more pictures.

Pictures. Pictures. Pictures.

View from the Hotel of the Castle of King Fasiledes.

Terrace and view at our hotel in Gonder, Ethiopia.

Castle in King Fasiledes compound.

Another of the six castles in Gonder. These castles were built in the 1600's and 1700's.

Wedding Picture of a couple getting married while we visited one of the Churches in Gonder. 

This village, believe it or not, is for seminary students who live five in a hut, share all property and work together in all living tasks and expenses. Many will do this for multiple years.

Family living in a small town between Gonder and Bahir Dar who showed us how they make injera, a local bread used as a staple for most meals.

The pot used to cook the injera over a fire of dung and wood.

Carl and Jason keeping up the tempo with a cool beat!

The point where Lake Tana flows into the very beginning of the Blue Nile. The Blue Nile then meanders up into Sudan meeting with the White Nile in Khartoum, the Sudanese Capital and then flows north into Egypt and the Mediterranean.

Pastor Steve in front of Africa's second most famous falls. The Blue Nile Falls, near the very beginning of this miraculous river in an amazing landscape.

Axum: The Ancient Capital of Ethiopia

Axum

The next stop on our tour of Ethiopia took us to Axum, the ancient capital of Ethiopia. This city is in the heart of the Tigray province in the far north, about 40 kilometers from the border with neighboring Eritrea. It is hotter here, and Axum is much larger than Lalibella.

One of the Stelae at Axum

Our days were filled with seeing the sights in and around the city. Axum is famous for a number of reasons, but one the the most well known is for the stelae fields. At the time of Axum's prominence, the area under Axumite control was much of present-day Ethiopia, as well as Eritrea, part of Sudan and even Yemen, on the other side of the Gulf of Aden. The kings that ruled from Axum traditionally would construct obelisks which would, to a certain extent, serve as their tombstones. Looking at the Stelae shows the changes that took place during the reign of the Axumite kingdom. Many stelae are very old and so the those stelae are rather unimpressive. However, there are others that are magnificent, rising around 10 stories in the air and carved designs in granite which was quarried from about 5 miles away and brought to the sites with the help of elephants. Beneath the stelae are a number of tombs where archaelogists have found various treasures, pieces of pottery, and other common findings in tombs like these. During the period shortly before World War II, Italy found itself in control of what is today Eritrea and certain parts of present-day Ethiopia. In Axum, Mussolini broke one of the most important Stelae into three pieces and took it to Rome where it stood for a number of years. It wasn't until fairly recently (a little less than a decade) that this particular stelae was returned to its original place and carefully put back together. One of the interesting pieces of this history we found in the tomb area. There is a casket that has been found in one of the tombs below the stelae fields. It is unknown who is entombed in this casket, except it is assumed one of the Kings is there. However, the casket is made of granite and there is no seal. It appears to be one solid piece of Granite, no way to open it. However, the interesting thing is that it is hollow. There is something inside, but there is no real way to figure out what is inside without breaking the granite apart.

Our guide banging on the casket of one of the Kings to show us that it is hollow.

We enter the Simien mountains on the road toward the border with Eritrea.

Axum is also the purported home of the real Ark of the Covenant, the home of the tablets God gave to Moses on which are inscribed the Ten Commandments. All Ethiopian Orthodox churches have a replica of the Ark in their own “holy of holies.” However, St. Mary's church in Axum is where, according to legend, the real ark is housed. There are only a few people who are allowed to actually see it. We were lucky enough to spend some time with one of the former Chief Priests of St. Mary's. His family has been in charge of the Ark for generations. We, of course, were not allowed to see the Ark. Not suprising, but almost all Ethiopians believe that the real Ark is indeed housed here and that belief has affected the course of Ethiopian politics, society, and religion for the past couple thousand years.

We also went to a small town about 60 kilometers away to see the ruins of the city of Yeha. Here there are ruins that date back 2500 years. The temple, which has been somewhat reconstructed, is open and upon entering, one sees the outline of the different rooms, including the rooms where Ibek's, a local type of deer, were sacrificed. In addition, the site contains other interesting things to see.

The Simien Mountains rise above on the way to Yeha.

Pastor Steve at the ruins of Yeha with a camel in the town square.

A young girl selling a traditional Ethiopian Coffee Jar

The ruins of the Temple at Yeha, a pre-Christian sit

It is definitely different than seeing a horse on the side of the road.

The children here are really great, but they are salesmen and saleswomen at heart and do not take no for an answer. However, occasionally one encounters a kid who just wants to practice their English or make a friend with someone from a foreign realm. Traveling to Yeha and back to Axum took us through the Simien Mountains. Beautiful peaks that rise up at least two thousand feat and more but that are not really connected to each other. I see a flat plain with these huge rocky spikes rising up from the flatland, each one freely standing on its own. I have never seen mountains like that, it gives me a sense of total awe at God's marvelous and diverse creation.

The ruins of the palace of the Queen of Sheba

Finally, we headed out to see the remains of the palace of the Queen of Sheba. The site, apparently, is not the actual palace of this famous Queen. The ruins date back to the 5^th or 6^th century after Christ, much to recent to be from the Queen of Sheba who is believed to have lived around the 10^th century BC. However, as archaeologists have excavated the palace, they have found that below what is there now is a different foundation that is much older. One of the current theories then, is that the site is indeed the location of the palace of the Queen of Sheba, however that palace was either destroyed or otherwise abandoned and later another palace was built by another royal and that second palace is the one whose ruins are visible today.

I was taken aback while at this palace to run into an Argentine doctor who is working for a Spanish non-profit in the Horn of Africa. We talked for a bit and I had to laugh that I would come the whole way here to find an Argentine. God always has those little surprises for us, coincidences or not!

As we went back to the hotel, we were accosted by a barrage of children looking for either a sale, a handout, or a handshake. These kids, though, were very adept at dividing us up to conquer us individually and many of us fell for the ruse. However, I did help one kid who showed me his report card, proud of his good grades. However, he worried because he couldn't go to the next grade without a new uniform, so I helped him out by taking him to the tailor and paying a small amount to help him cover the cost. It wasn't much, but it felt good to help him advance his studies. I worry that it was all a ruse and that I got conned, but I am going to convince myself that what I did was the right thing to do, either way, it made me feel good, even though the act of charity was small compared with the need around us.

As I write this, we are at the airport in Axum, waiting to board our plane to the city of Gondar where we will spend the next day and after which we will drive to the city of Bahir Dar which will take us around Lake Tana (the largest lake in Ethiopia) and will provide us the opportunity to take a boat ride on the Blue Nile. I am excited to see that.