Keeping It Simple

A sermon preached at Faith Episcopal Church on July 3, 2005.

I used to celebrate the Eucharist in Rite One, with the old Elizabethan language, every week – it was the preferred form used at the 9:00 Sunday service at the Cathedral. While there is always comfort in familiarity, I don’t really miss it, except for two things; first, the regular recitation of the Summary of the Law. “Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ saith: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. The second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. One these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” I miss that in our contemporary setting. The other thing I miss are the sentences that go between the absolution of sins and the Peace. I miss saying “Hear the Word of God to all who truly turn to him. Come unto me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden and I will refresh you.” Those two reminders, the summary and the invitation, are there to ground us in what is important – they keep it simple.

As this is Melanie’s last Sunday here – I’ve been unable to avoid thinking all things Melanie. When I met with Bp. Bruno just a year ago about coming to this diocese, I never dreamed that I would be showered with so many blessings. To be made the vicar here – after meeting him only once, was amazing enough. But to end up living ten miles from my daughter was some of Spirit’s more creative work. Last September Melanie moved in with me and we have had a delightful time as mother/daughter roommates and friends. Fortunately, our gospel today gives me good cover to preach about her.

Jesus says today that “these things” have been hidden from the wise and revealed to infants or “little ones.” What are these things? The answer to that question is the answer to the question, “what was important that Jesus wanted people to know?”

I’ve always maintained that motherhood was the best training for ministry. You learn a lot from the wisdom of children. What do children know? They are born knowing the basics, it’s good to be fed, it’s good to have a warm bed, it’s good to be held, it’s good to be loved. Babies’ innate wisdom reflects the blessings that God would give us. . Melanie and Brady approached all of these differently. As a newborn, Melanie would sleep through a meal. Once he was on solid food Brady, just to be contrary, cried between bites, afraid that he’d starve to death before the next spoonful. I couldn’t shovel it in fast enough. They were different but the basic truth was there – the needs of the body are important.

As babies get a little older and begin to understand some level of individuality, what is important to them expands. Familiar faces bring joy, strangers can be scary. During one baptism at the Cathedral, I had successfully received the sleeping infant from her mother – things were going well. Then I poured water on her – she woke up to an unfamiliar face and screamed at the top of her considerable lungs – right into my lapel mic and nearly killed the choir! Little ones engage their curiosity and develop independence through accomplishments beginning with rolling over, sitting up, crawling and eventually walking. These all come with the need to feel safe.

As a sense of self and freedom to explore grew I could see where the kids safety zones were. Melanie explored her limits of safety in creative ways. Shortly after learning to climb I saw her one day standing on the sofa looking out the window. I’m not sure what possessed her to push back on the cushions and sat down with such force that she bounced off the couch and landed on her well padded bottom on the floor. It stunned her a bit and I ran to pick her up and do all necessary motherly consoling. She figured out quickly that she wasn’t hurt and so the first thing she did when I put her down was to climb back on the sofa and try to recreate the stunt. The element of risk was acceptable plus I was there to pick her up.

We had a Mother’s Out program that they would go to so I could have a couple of hours to run errands without car seats and diaperbags. Brady would hit the door of that place and be off and running without looking back. He had a great time but boy did he make me pay when I came to pick them up. He would throw spectacular fits which stunned the people who worked there. They told me – he was fine until you got here. I finally figured out that it was Brady’s way of making sure that he could count on me. If he was a rotten as he could be and I would still take him home he felt confident in my love for him. He was a two year old Prodigal Son unsure of his status and welcome – I had let him go – could he trust me to bring him back home. It was fun time raising that boy.

For children in nominally attentive homes, these are conditions that just are – they are cared for, fed, loved, kept safe. It’s uncomplicated – it doesn’t call for lots of interpretation. It doesn’t need lots of rules. The next chapter in the Gospel Matthew following today’s reading is one of the stories of Jesus conflict with the Pharisees over activities on the Sabbath. He and his disciples are walking through the fields and they are hungry. However, plucking the grain from the stalks is considered work and the Sabbath is for rest. Jesus is making the point that sometimes we make it too complicated. The need for a day off is real – everyone needs a break. But when it becomes so institutionalized that there are rules to follow in your recreation – we’ve made it too complicated. Children know better than that. Some times on my day off I like to bake something – it’s not work - it’s recreation because it refreshes me. One spring break Melanie went to Georgia and built houses with Habitat for Humanity. Was she working? – you bet she was! But was her spirit refreshed, yet it was. She knew how to take her break.

Kids keep it simple. The Norris kids were our neighbors, the oldest, John was Melanie’s age and after him there was a ton of girls, starting with Keeley. One day our neighbor’s dog Bingo was hit by a car and died. Sad moment for all of us. John was particularly undone. I think it was his first experience with death and he cried for days and went on and on about it. Julie did her best to comfort and console him and find answers to the unanswerables. Finally Keeley, who spent most of her short life sucking her thumb had finally had enough. She rolled her eyes at John and loudly popped her thumb out of her mouth and said “Look, Bingo was here, he got killed and now he’s in Heaven.” She gave John a withering “I dare you to say anything else” kind of look and put her thumb back in its normal place. John seemed satisfied. Kids know how to keep it simple.

In simplicity you can see the big picture. Jesus reminds us and invites us to that big picture. He said “Love God, love your neighbor - come to me and we will keep it simple.”