Dear Rose Park,
13 Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. 14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19: 13-14)
Let the little children come. This past Sunday we had our very first children’s sermon. As I mentioned on Sunday, I’m sure it wasn’t the first children’s sermon in the history of Rose Park, but it’s definitely the first one in a long time. It was such a joy to invite our little ones forward and share a story with them. After worship, I kept thinking about Jesus’ words in chapter 19 of Matthew’s Gospel.
Notice, it wasn’t the ‘bad guys’ that wanted to keep the children from Jesus, it was His own disciples. It was the ones closest to Jesus that rebuked the little children and attempted to keep them from Him. Furthermore, I don’t imagine Jesus letting the children come to Him out of pity as if He was exhausted and said, “fine I guess they come sit next to me.” No. With gladness in His heart He invites the children to sit with Him, tells His disciples to not hinder them from ever approaching Him again, and then reminds the disciples that the Kingdom of heaven belongs to these little ones.
In the Reformed Church in America, we embody ‘let the little children come’ when it comes to our two sacraments: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Many of us who grew up in the church are very familiar with infant baptism, but it wasn’t until the late 1980’s that the RCA extended the invitation to any baptized person (regardless of age) for the Lord’s Supper. Pulling directly from the RCA website we read:
In 1988, the General Synod encouraged boards of elders in RCA churches to include baptized children in the celebration of communion (1988 Minutes of General Synod, p. 385). Because this sacrament is such an important part of our faith, we consider how we might include our children in the Lord’s Supper. Adults don’t need a complete understanding of the covenant and grace to partake in the Lord’s Supper. Neither do our children. It is beyond understanding. The sacrament is a mystery in which the bread and wine are visible signs of God’s invisible grace.
Jesus said, “let the little children come.” This doesn’t mean we treat communion as chicken nuggets and french fries in the backseat of the car. We can still show respect and revere the sacrifice that Christ made and regardless of our age we can still gather in remembrance, communion, and hope. This is all to say, consider this an invitation from Christ to each and every one of us. This Sunday (the first Sunday in June) we’ll gather around the table as the family of God at Rose Park and we’ll celebrate the Lord’s Supper. When I approach the table, I’ll extend that invitation to any and all baptized members because Jesus said, “let the little children come.”
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Mark