The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of an asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hat on the adder’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full
of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
Matthew 18, verses 1 – 5. [NRSV]
At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven ?”
He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, “Truly, I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. |
Ken Dodd, says that laughter is like the colours of the rainbow, and the highest form, pure white light, “can be heard for nothing just by standing next to a school playground and listening to the sound of little children laughing for the sheer joy of being alive.”
Children need to be allowed time to ‘let off steam’, to run about and play, to re-create themselves. It is a recognised fact that if children are denied time to play it does them terrible, lasting damage emotionally and mentally.
Play is not a reward – it is a necessity.
Martin Luther, again, used to advise his clergy to spend time among little children and animals and, as he put it, “among all that take life blithely.” In other words, all creatures that take life as it comes and find joy in the moment;
all who enjoy life as a gift rather than a problem to be solved.
This may well be what Jesus meant when he turned to a child as an illustration of how to be great in the kingdom of God.
When we rediscover how to play and “get in touch with our inner child” as they say, then we will also get in touch with many secrets of the kingdom of heaven; secrets which, the Bible says, “God has hidden from the wise and learned, but revealed to the humble and meek.”
What benefits can we expect from creative rest, play and laughter ?
We shall avoid:
weariness and deadness of spirit,
apathy and cynicism;
too much self-importance;
overvaluing work and productivity;
self-justification and self-sufficiency;
`anxiety and self-pity.
C.S. Lewis wrote, “Joy is the serious business of heaven.”
I say, “Where’s that crash helmet ? I’m off to explore rock pools !” |
When I was little, after church my mum and dad would load up the car and off we’d go to St. Mary’s Island on the North East coast where I’d spend the whole afternoon exploring rock pools; coming home with a bucketful of crabs and a head full of things I’d seen.
In school assembly next morning, we often sang a hymn “All things which live below the sky…” Verse four had a special significance for me –
“The seagull whiter than the foam
The fish that dart beneath…” – because it reminded me of all the wonders of nature which I’d seen on the Sabbath day.
Our theme today is: “Sabbath times are times to play.”
and we’re going to explore what it means to play, be creative and ‘become like little children.’ The key words are Creativity; Laughter, and Children.
Creativity: Genesis 2, vv 2 – 3 tells us, “By the seventh day God finished what he had been doing and stopped working. He blessed the seventh day and set it apart as a special day, because by that day he had completed his creation and stopped working.”
To which I would add, “So, on the seventh day God got onto his motorbike and rode off to St. Mary’s Island to explore rock pools !”
And why not !
After God had completed creation, he stepped back to enjoy it ! Creation was not an end in itself, it was a means by which God could share his love with a wider audience. God made everything for his delight, and even after mankind had blotted its copy-book, he continued to come up with new ideas to bring us back to that first innocent relationship. When we were made “in his image”, that meant that we shared something of his creative urge and ability. If we deny people time to rest, we deny them creativity; in effect, we deny them the right to exercise a gift which God has bestowed on everyone. Anyone can be creative when given the opportunity, no matter what their circumstances.
Last week was half-term, so Carrie and Callum stayed overnight and we went to a special event at Heeley City Farm. We had a great time helping Callum make a rocket ship out of recycled materials, and the place was packed with adults and children using their imaginations to construct all sorts of things out of empty cereal packets and scraps of cloth and plastic. The adults were having as much fun as the children ! |
Isaiah says, “The nursing child shall play over the hole of an asp…” He was looking forward to the time when “the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord” and every living thing will be in harmony with God and each other. Then, everything will play with the materials of a recycled earth.
Laughter: Brian Keenan, who was held captive in Beirut for years, suffering torments which, God grant, we will never have to face, still managed to laugh with his fellow-prisoners. Later, he wrote:
“There are many things a man can resist – pain, torture, loss of loved ones – but laughter ultimately he cannot resist.” [An Evil Cradling]
Martin Luther said, “If I am not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don’t want to go there !”
There’s an old film called “Sullivan’s Travels” in which a millionaire film producer disguises himself as a tramp in order to find out what is most important in the lives of ordinary people. After many misadventures, Sullivan is arrested for vagrancy in the Southern United States and sentenced to serve on a chain-gang with all manner of criminals, most of whom are black. It is hardly the high spot of his life !
One day, a local church puts on a dinner and a film show for the convicts. They all troop in, still chained together, and they watch a Walt Disney cartoon. Soon, the whole room is roaring with laughter; the prisoners, the guards and the congregation.
The barriers are broken down between prisoner and free,
black and white, respectable and criminal, believer and non-believer and by what ? Laughter ! Simply laughter.
Play and laughter can sustain us through dark and difficult experiences.
And, the Bible tells us, one day “the nursing child shall play over the hole of an asp…” because nothing “will hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain” says the Lord.
Children: Jesus tells a great truth about children when he says, “Truly, I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Whoever becomes humble like a child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Whoever welcomes one such child in my name, welcomes me.” |
