...un-scorned

From Olivet they followed among the joyful crowd,

the victor palm branch waving, with singing clear and loud.

The Lord of earth and heaven rode on in lowly state,

nor scorned that little children should on his bidding wait.

---Jennette Threlfall, 1873

It is always a heartwarming picture when Jesus and children get together. My little Bible, given to me June 26, 1968 by “Mother and Daddy”, is covered in a suh-weet colored depiction of Jesus blessing the little children. Everyone from tots to tweens is gathered 'round Jesus, shepherded by two lovely, young-looking mom-type ladies. Just looking at it now makes me warm inside. Jesus valued children.

And why not? Our society claims to value its children, perhaps more than almost anyone else. We spend hundreds of millions of dollars feeding, clothing, entertaining, educating, doctoring, bracing, and equipping our children. There are exceptions, and there are glaring holes in our protection of children as a society, and we bear the open wounds of our failures with each new disaster. But with our words, and in our best moments, “the children are our future” (with thanks to Whitney Houston).

But this attitude toward children is a modern development. In Jesus’ time, children were disregarded, valued only for the worth of their labor or future labor to their families. They were insignificant, and having a religious leader elevate them by his attention was actually embarrassing for Jesus’ disciples. I wonder, if this story were to take place in modern times, who would the children be? What group or groups of people are disregarded and marginalized in today’s society? Who is left out of the caring circle by us, Jesus’ disciples? Whose presence would Jesus scorn not? Whose presence should we, Jesus’ disciples, scorn not?

Happy Birthday to My Favorite Radical

O holy night! The starts are brightly shining, it is the night of our dear Savior's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Truly he taught us to love one another, his law is love and his gospel is peace.
Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother, 
And in his name ALL oppression shall cease.

The beloved French carol from the mid-19th century, 'Cantique de Noel', lays bare any comfortable, status quo message contained in the typical Christmas card. The Baby born today brought no message of "atta boy" and "You're doing a heckuva job, Brownie". The birth of this Baby, instead, was a clarion call for the turning of the world; and not a thing would ever be the same. With the break of a new morning, the old day passed away. With Jesus' birth, the value of each soul was upheld, and treating all people as sisters and brothers transformed relationships and communities. As easy as it is to see how popular this carol would have been with 19th century abolitionists, we give ourselves too much credit, perhaps, to think that our 21st century society values everyone equally. Who are the people we see as unclean, unworthy, or just a little too 'out there' to be included in the number of God's family today? What oppression is there yet to cease? And what is our responsibility in ending that oppression? No gospel for the weak of constitution, the message from this Baby-turned-radical. Lord, I want to be in that number!

So, happy birthday, Jesus! You will always be my favorite radical.