I was recently chatting with an old friend. We both have adult children and we both are old enough to see ourselves playing out in the lives of our offspring. The vantage point of a parent is fascinating. There was a time when I was a parent in function, now I am a parent in fact. The work of parenting is pretty much over and I am left to mostly observe.
We worshipped at the church where the Reformation officially began 501 years ago this past week. I was expecting a much more humble birthplace for the Reformation. That comes from the legends I have heard of Luther’s father being unhappy with his decision to take Holy Orders as opposed to the more financially lucrative career in law that was planned for him, and with the seemingly obvious thought that the vow of poverty would mean that the church was meant more for the work of the Gospel than for a place to be adorned.
God helps those who help themselves
“God helps those who help themselves.” It sounds like it is from the Bible but the truth is, it is not. Sometimes we think we have God figured out but most often find God to be different than we expect. Jesus just finished telling the disciples that suffering, death, and resurrection were in the future. This was probably not what they were expecting but it also was not the first time they heard it either.
There is an expression that I think most people, parents in particular, know pretty well: to be “caught in a lie.” You know the scenario: someone is speaking and most often without even realizing it, does or says something that makes it clear that they have just lied. If you are a parent and this is your child, you meter out the punishment and hope to influence your child’s developing values.
People were taking the children to Jesus that he might bless them. In Jesus’ day it was apparently a common practice, but it is easy to miss the significance of this story. Hebrew fathers had been blessing their children throughout the whole Old Testament. Hebrew parents had been bringing their children to the synagogue way before Jesus’ time for a ritual of blessing. The Talmud contains one of these blessings: That they might be “
Mark 10:35-45
Mark 10:13-16