This morning I would like you to think about your faith.
When is your faith child like and when is it childish?
This morning’s Gospel points out there is a difference.
There is a difference between child like faith and being childish with our faith.
Jesus gives us a child like faith.
He wants us to have a child like faith.
Listen again to Jesus as recorded in verse 25 of Matthew 11.
25At that time Jesus said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
And from Mark 10:14, Jesus says
"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
The Christian faith is not complicated.
Jesus is stressing that being a Christian is not something that you have to achieve or obtain to be working in your life.
It is a gift from God to you.
Martin Luther emphasised this when he said scripture indicates that,
"I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has calls me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith."
The faith I have,
the faith you have is something Jesus has given us.
So even a child can have this faith.
And it is amazing the faith Children do have.
And it is a faith that means we trust Jesus with our lives.
This is what child like faith looks like.
But Jesus doesn’t want us to be childish with our faith.
Now interestingly in this section of Jesus was not addressing the children.
He was addressing ’this generation’.
And the generation, Jesus was addressing appears to be a lot like the generation we are part of;
fickled,
self centred,
willing to leave it to someone else,
wanting things down their way.
They were not willing to respond to the messages from Jesus unless it suited them.
And they got upset when the form of the message is not the way they liked it.
And we need to remember it wasn’t the young people Jesus was having a dig at.
When he talks about this generation,
He is talking to the adults, about the adults.
And for us today that means He is talking to you and to me.
He is especially directing his comments
to people with experience,
to people with knowledge,
to people with the ability to hear the messages from God,
and to people who are able contribute to being part of a Christian community.
Listen again to what Jesus says to them and to us, from verses 16-19
16"To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:
17" ’We played the flute for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge
and you did not mourn.
18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ’He has a demon.’ 19The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ’Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners."
These comments from Jesus highlight the problem that Jesus has not just with children,
but with every human.
The problem is that our immediate reaction to most situations is to think of ourselves first.
This is exactly what sin is.
Luther used the phrase that sin is being curved in on oneself.
Recently I heard it described as this.
Sin is looking at oneself.
Try looking at yourself now.
When we look at ourselves we look down.
What do we see.
We see no one else.
We see our tummies and focus on filling them.
We see our pockets and focus on putting and keeping money in them.
We see our hands and we see what is missing from them.
And we see our feet and focus on them not moving too far or getting too dirty, or how quickly we can move away from someone.
And the actions that sin produces can clearly be seen in children.
I love my children…
I love many of the things they do…
But occasionally they drive me up the wall.
They almost send me insane.
At times they can be very generous.
But other times they can be very selfish and stubborn.
There are times they want every thing their own way.
They want everyone to play the game their way.
And when they don’t get their way they can be very difficult.
They can not only make life miserable for everyone around them,
but as a result of their actions they often miss out on things.
But such behaviour is not just restricted to children.
Have you ever watched the parliament in action.
In the middle of an important discussion,
someone who doesn’t like the way the discussion is going begins to act in childish ways.
And unfortunately we are not immune from such behaviour
such behaviour even occasionally drifts into our lives and into the church.
Sometimes we hide it,
like refusing to contact someone because they haven’t done the right thing by us.
Sometimes it is a little more obvious like at a meeting.
For many people I am weird I don’t mind meetings.
But one thing I have trouble with is some of the tactics people will use to avoid or delay attending to some issues.
Other times things happen in the church that some people are not happy about.
Unfortunately in our church life we have to deal with many issues,
and we have to deal with changing situations,
and things are not always how we like it.
Unfortunately when this happens some people respond in ways that are detrimental to themselves and the church community.
They ignore what is happening in the community.
Some stop coming to worship or worship only when it suits them.
Some withhold or reduce their giving,
or feel giving is not their responsibility.
Others refuse to participate in church activities,
and rather than participate in the community some decide it is their duty to criticise what is happening.
When any of us behave like this we are like the children in the market square Jesus was referring to.
Complaining that things don’t suit them,
and not allowing Jesus to talk to us through the many avenues he comes to us.
So what can be done to help us see and get involved in better ways.
To help us avoid being childish.
A starting point is we need to constantly remember we are not just a Christian for ourself.
Each one of us is called to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
In being a disciple we are part of this community,
not just for our own benefit, not just so we can receive blessings from God
but we are here also for the benefit of others, so others can receive blessings through us and this community.
When we do not participate in the Christian community
we are spiritually denying ourselves the gifts God wants to give us.
And we are spiritually denying others some of God’s gifts.
We are called to be a disciple of Jesus Christ not a disciple of our own ideas.
And being a Christian disciple means we will at times feel weighed down,
feel burdened.
From Luke 14:27 we hear;
And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
What are some of the burdens you believe you are experiencing because you are a disciple of Jesus Christ?
Now when we are burdened we can easily complain about God, about the life we have, about things not being right.
Some people even complain about being be asked to do something.
Such an approach means we are looking at ourselves.
But the good news for us is that as a Christian we do not carry our troubles, our burdens alone.
Jesus offers each one of us another way.
He says you are a disciple of mine,
I am not going to leave you alone.
‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’
Now the rest Jesus is talking about is a rest to help us in our responsibilities and lives as Christian disciples.
It is not the rest some people imagine.
The rest where they can put their feet up and no longer will have burdens.
As Christian disciples we never retire from active duty as a Christian disciple.
The reality is being a Christian does not necessarily mean life is any easier,
in many cases the things that cause us burdens will often remain as part of our lives.
We will always have things that concern us.
But Jesus is wanting to give us a type of rest that is more like ongoing relief.
More like help.
Listen again to the final two verses of this mornings Gospel reading.
From Matthew 11: 29 and 30
29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Now a yoke was usually one piece of carved wood made to connect two or more bulls together,
to help them work as a team,
to help them help each other.
And so in this passage Jesus is saying walk with me.
He is saying learn from me.
And in learning from me you will find rest, relief.
And how do we learn from him?
By being in His presence!!
We are in His presence when we regularly read and study the bible.
Jesus will use this opportunity to comfort us.
To give us relief from the things that burden us.
And occasionally gives us an insight how to deal with our burdens.
Sometimes we will read and study a passage in scripture that means little to us now.
But some time later we will receive the benefits of spending time with Jesus in scripture.
He will comfort us through this early reading.
Another way we learn from Jesus is through His Christian community.
Jesus wants us to be in constant fellowship with each other.
Before, during and after worship,
In worship you are offered forgiveness for being a sinner.
In worship you receive the body and blood of Jesus to strengthen your faith.
In worship we explore ways the Christian faith is relevant to you and the people around you, not just on Sundays, but seven days a week.
It is in Christian community that we learn from others and their journey with Jesus.
And at times Jesus may even use you to teach and comfort others in this community.
Jesus also gives us the opportunity and the privilege to pray to him, to seek help from him when we are burdened,
to bring our burdens to Him.
And the biggest burden Jesus addresses is,
are we good enough for God?
Jesus doesn’t just say we are good enough.
He makes us good enough, through his death and resurrection.
And spending time with Jesus in worship and bible reading are tangible ways we demonstrate that we are trusting Jesus with our burdens.
It is not for Jesus’ benefit we do this.
It is for our own.
We are trusting that there is a better way than trying to deal with all the things that burden us by ourselves.
This is trusting in Jesus.
This is having a child like faith.
At times young children are very good at admitting they can’t do something by themselves.
And this is the faith Jesus has given us.
A faith that trusts Jesus to look after us.
Trusting him to help us with our burdens.
The burdens we face each day.
And trusting him that he will and does help us in the best way possible with our burdens.
I invite you now to join me in prayer to bring your specific burdens to Jesus.
That he will help you with them.
And when you come to Holy Communion bring your worries, your concerns with you and place them at the feet of Jesus on the cross.
Let us pray...
