Sun. Oct. 6/24, BCP, BAS
Mark 10: 1-16
St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church, Downtown Kitchener
“The Kingdom of God belongs to such as these …”
“The Kingdom of God belongs to such as these…” as Jesus is remembered for saying to all ages, in the Gospel according to St. Mark. Please be seated.
It is great privilege for me to return to this pulpit, in support of the sabbatical of Rector Preston Parsons, among several colleagues – including Eileen – sharing in the preaching ministry here at St. John’s.
When I first stepped into this Nave, more than 26 years ago, my eyes were drawn to the variety of colourful windows, heraldry, and plaques. I LOVE plaques. They help to tell the story of a place, and its people.
When I was visiting my brother in Halifax, we took what he referred to as an ‘ABP’ tour: Another Bloody Plaque! And after reading about silhouettes of some of the victims of the Halifax explosion etched in the windows of historic St. Paul’s Anglican Church downtown, we climbed the hill to the Citadel just as the daily ‘noon gun’ was about to sound. And when it did, the man in front of us – carrying a full box of popcorn – threw the box into the air, and it was ‘snowing’ in May. He had been so startled – but was OK – and many of us, of all ages, smiled.
Jesus is remembered for smiling on the children, in particular. In an ancient society that gave children no legal standing. Indeed, some of Jesus’ closest disciples discouraged the children who were naturally drawn to his sense of welcome. And Jesus rebuked the adults saying: “Let the children come to me … for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these …” He put his arms around them, laid his hands upon them, and blessed them.
Since the Resurrection, the laying on of hands has been understood to be a ‘conferring of the Holy Spirit’ that Christians continue to associate with sacramental actions, such as at Baptism – the unmerited grace of which an infant reminds us – as well as Confirmation, Commissioning and Ordination, in the Eucharist, and for healing, among other times. At the eight o’clock Eucharist this morning, an infant took one of the wafers, and seemed to understand its holy significance…
Someone who dedicated their vocation to local children is Jeremiah Suddaby [sudd -a-bee] whose life is commemorated on one of the many plaques in this sacred space, reading from his memorial plaque (located to the left of the Chancel) with a few parenthetical comments: “He died on May 29, 1910 aged (only) 68 years. He was, for 33 years, Principal of Berlin Public School (that now bears his name, on Frederick St) and was a devoted member of (this) St. John’s Church, widely known, universally respected and dearly beloved.” As Jesus himself became increasingly known, respected and beloved, particularly for his sense of welcome, and especially to children.
As St. John’s continues to renew itself, I think Jesus and Jeremiah Suddaby would smile on the Nursery that several families and other supporters have repurposed beside the Fireside Room, as well as plans to organize a Sunday School. In addition to intergenerational programs like ‘Come to the Table’, where the newborn sibling to big brother Lincoln was recently introduced.
When I have the privilege to volunteer at St. John’s Kitchen – with its temporary home back here at its namesake location – not a morning that goes by without a really grounding experience, for me.
One such morning in the Summer, an apparently single Mom arrived with three young children; I’d guess their ages to be about six, three and an infant. They sat at one of the café tables in the Upper Parish Hall, for breakfast, joining a single man that seemed to know all four of them. And soon, the Mom was gone, the six-year-old was helping the infant with a bottle, and the single man was staying with the three children. After a while, the Mom returned, and later I commended the man on his support. He told me that she had just been given notice of eviction, and had been encouraged to meet with the Eviction Prevention Office that is part of the Social Development Centre based in the Lower Church Hall here at St. John’s. Last I heard, she had an ‘extension’, and hopefully by now the family has been able to stay, or move, affordably. Hopefully. To such as these, does the Kingdom of God belong.
And on this eve of the grim ‘anniversary’ of October 7th, in Israel and Gaza, and now Lebanon, as well as the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine – among other conflicts around the world so loved by the Holy One of Many Names – this Gospel text speaks to the ‘priority of the innocents’; whatever their age, faith, tradition or nationality.
Sadly but surely, this beloved Gospel text is sometimes read at a child’s funeral … A parent’s ‘worst nightmare’, and nearly that of a funeral director and preacher too! As a ‘student of cemeteries’ too, I always watch for the little lambs or angels that often mark the grave of a child. In Waterloo’s Parkview Cemetery, there is a dedicated section, that can break your heart.
And yet, it is with the assurance of Jesus’ various invitations and promises, that we can find some consolation. As did the mother of three small children, when she knew that she was dying. I had the privilege to overhear a bedtime story one night, when she was ‘tucking in’ her three and I think of them every time I look up to this window and the crescent moon it depicts (above the Suddaby plaque).
With the permission of the family, I recall how on that tender evening, the Mom pointed to a plastic crescent moon that hung from the ceiling of one of the bedrooms. And she said: “When I die … I’m going to join God on the other side of the moon … you won’t be able to see me, but God and I will be able to see you. You won’t be able to see us, but we will be able to see you.” Echoing another promise that Jesus is remembered for – this one in the Gospel according to St. John – about ‘many abiding places’, with God, and in the lives of loved ones. (14:3, alt. Rev. Dr. Brian Thorpe)
I mentioned coming to St. John’s for the first time, 26 years ago. It was to attend the (then) Wednesday morning Eucharist here in the Choir which was followed by breakfast … in the Lower Church Hall.
Neil Carver was the Rector at that time, and warmly welcomed me, as did Mindy and Barry, among others. Mindy having been in the Altar Guild for only fifty years by then! And Barry who was about to ‘break the glass ceiling’ as the first man to host the breakfast, ably assisted by Rob: who continues to be so helpful with BCP Eucharist which is now on the first Sunday morning of the month, though there is no longer a breakfast.
Requiem Barry, and his wife Isobel, whose memory is sacred, including in the Memorial Garden here at St. John’s.
As I promise to close now, on a more ‘up beat’ note … Eventually I connected the dots’ that Mindy was the same devoted Sunday School teacher who used to ‘marshall’ (and that was probably an apt description!) members of the Junior Choir who used to sit in these front pews (in the Chancel), for varying lengths of time! As Mindy prepares to celebrate her 100th (!) birthday in December, one of her proteges from those days is a friend of mine, now in his sixties. And both of them, fondly recall how when Mindy wasn’t looking – which wasn’t often! – the boy delighted in ‘throwing the switch’ to illuminate this Christmas star, (in the peak of the roof, above the High Altar). Though only ‘supposed’ to be illuminated at the end of the Choral Eucharist on Christmas Eve, apparently that (then) six-year-old had been taught by Mindy, about Jesus’s invitation to ‘let the children come onto me’.
As for the rest of us, to see the star illuminated, apparently we’ll have to return on Christmas Eve!
(Rev.) John Lougheed