Receive the Kingdom of God

Mark 10:13-16

Meditate on these for awhile:
What’s the sound of one hand clapping?
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

These are two common examples of what is, in Zen Buddhism, called a “koan”. A koan is a puzzling, often paradoxical statement or story, used as an aid to meditation and a means of gaining spiritual awakening. Ponder them for just a moment and you may find yourself stepping into a whole new reality.

A more contemporary koan is this one: “Why are there locks on the doors at 7-eleven?” Think about it, why does a store that is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year need to have locks on its doors? The path to enlightenment begins here.
While you’re thinking on that one, let me offer you another. Jesus offers us a sort of koan of his own in today’s lesson. “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”

I think this is a sort of koan that Jesus offers because, at first glance it seems so easy to understand-children are open, loving, unbiased, creative, caring…the list goes on and on. So, if we recover some of that child-like openness and faith, then we too can expect to enter God’s kingdom. If we can’t recover it, then we may never find the life God intends for us. Easy enough, right?

But, apparently, it’s not that simple. This is the second time in less than a chapter of Mark’s gospel that Jesus has had to make this point to his disciples. First, when they argued about who among them was the greatest-Jesus essentially told them: “Do you want to see who God thinks is great?” and then he took a little child in his arms and said “This is who God thinks is really great.”

And now, as people stream to Jesus with these little children just like that one, the embodiment of greatness in God’s eyes, the disciples only instinct is to speak sternly to them, shoo them away, tell them to get lost. Apparently they haven’t meditated on the koan of the child long enough.

Maybe they should spend some time with the 7-eleven koan, too. Why are there locks on the doors of a store that’s open all the time? These disciples have seen how Jesus is open, to all kinds of people, all the time. And yet, they still feel the need to install locks on the gates of God’s kingdom. They’ve seen it with their own eyes-that Jesus is like a 7-eleven-open all day every day. Yet, today they seem to be telling all of these people, bringing their children that Jesus is closed for business. The doors are locked.

Do you and I need to spend some more time with these two bits of wisdom, too? Are you sometimes like Jesus’ disciples? Do you sometimes see the need to stand guard at the door, at the gate, at the entrance, ready to lock it all up tight if the wrong kind of person happens to come along at the wrong time? Have you ever felt the pressure of feeling like it was up to you to guard something, and you were afraid of what might happen if the gates were left wide open? Have you felt that kind of fear?

Or, are you like the people who bring their children? Do you find yourself wanting some kind of contact with someone who has wisdom to bring to the troubles of your life? Do you find yourself looking for someone who could listen to all the things that fill your heart and mind each day? Do you long for someone who could touch your life and remind you in a meaningful way that it is blessed by God?

The good news today, if you’ve ever felt this way, is that Jesus is here for you. There’s no need to be on guard when he’s around. Stop guarding, put away the keys, leave the door and live your life without fear. Jesus has it covered. There’s no need to carry those troubles alone. You don’t have to look far for that listening ear. Your life is blessed, look around, Jesus is here.

Jesus has a passion for teaching these lessons. They are important to him. Notice how he feels when the disciples stand guard and lock the doors to keep people out- “when Jesus saw this he was indignant.” Indignant literally means: angry, offended, annoyed, pained. Jesus seldom gets this way. In fact, this is the only place in the Bible where it happens.

It doesn’t happen when Jesus is accused of lying about being God’s Son. He doesn’t get angry this way when the accusations turn into a guilty verdict. He isn’t indignant when they lock him up like a criminal, when they dress him up in a purple cloth and a crown of thorn, when they make fun of him. No indignation at all when they lead him to the cross, nail him up on it, and then mock him as he dies. Through all of these things, Jesus expresses no anger at all.
But when he sees someone trying to close up shop on God’s kingdom, he’s indignant.
Indignant, he passes right by the doors that the disciples are trying to close and lock, and he takes the children up in his arms, lays his hands on them, and blesses them. Indignant at the idea that God’s kingdom could ever be closed, Jesus reaches out.

What we find, ultimately from this little koan is that the kingdom of God IS these little ones. It is these little ones and anyone else who is open enough to give and receive God’s love the way they do.

What happens that day is a metaphor for what happens at the end of the story. The disciples tried to lock the doors and close off access to Jesus. The cross and the grave were attempts to lock the doors and close off access to God. But Jesus passes through every locked door, every dark place, every gate that leads to death, and emerges to embrace us with new life on the other side. That day it was blessings for all who came. Today, it is the blessing of the resurrection for all who receive him the way those little ones did.

What’s the sound of one hand clapping? Does a tree that falls in the forest make a sound if no one is there to hear it? Why do they have locks on the doors at 7-eleven? I’m not sure. But, why isn’t Jesus concerned about offending his disciples? Why does he push past them without a second thought? Why does he bless the little children? I think he does it because they ARE the kingdom of God. You and I are as well when we become like them. Meditate on that for awhile and you will be enlightened.