It can take me a bit of time to process what happens on a Sunday morning. It needs to "sift down," as the Quakers say. It makes me think about the old-fashioned flour sifters with God turning the crank.
I have been musing about this past Sunday.
As the children gathered at the front for their time one little guy tapped my arm and let me know it was his sister's tenth birthday the next day. We acknowledge such moments when we light the Christ Candle and he was concerned we didn't know (we did.) It was a loving act by a delightful, sometimes boisterous boy. As the children left for Sunday School another boy leaned over and solemnly said "thank you Reverend Mundy." He is probably the only child in the congregation who addresses me this way and it was impossibly sweet. I felt blessed in the deepest sense of that term.
During the same time for children we acknowledged a girl who had much of her long hair cut so that it could be used by a cancer patient without hair. She even brought the snipped locks with her for examination! She will turn six years old on Tuesday. What a remarkable act of generosity for one so young.
During our gathering time following worship a mother told me that her ten-year-old daughter has been following our series on death, heaven, and hell with interest. Several children have filled in the questionnaires and wondered about staying in for the sermons. They are curious.
As my brain slowly assembled all this, it brought into focus, once again, the reality that our children are compassionate, generous, and inquisitive theologians. The Christian community is not "prep school" for a future life in faith for our kids. They are living the gospel of Jesus Christ, here and now. Over and over again I benefit from their faith. I learn at their feet, even as they gather close to mine.
Sometimes it takes a little work to actually become aware of this, but it is actually unfolding before us if we have ears to hear and eyes to see.
As the children gathered at the front for their time one little guy tapped my arm and let me know it was his sister's tenth birthday the next day. We acknowledge such moments when we light the Christ Candle and he was concerned we didn't know (we did.) It was a loving act by a delightful, sometimes boisterous boy. As the children left for Sunday School another boy leaned over and solemnly said "thank you Reverend Mundy." He is probably the only child in the congregation who addresses me this way and it was impossibly sweet. I felt blessed in the deepest sense of that term.
During the same time for children we acknowledged a girl who had much of her long hair cut so that it could be used by a cancer patient without hair. She even brought the snipped locks with her for examination! She will turn six years old on Tuesday. What a remarkable act of generosity for one so young.
During our gathering time following worship a mother told me that her ten-year-old daughter has been following our series on death, heaven, and hell with interest. Several children have filled in the questionnaires and wondered about staying in for the sermons. They are curious.
As my brain slowly assembled all this, it brought into focus, once again, the reality that our children are compassionate, generous, and inquisitive theologians. The Christian community is not "prep school" for a future life in faith for our kids. They are living the gospel of Jesus Christ, here and now. Over and over again I benefit from their faith. I learn at their feet, even as they gather close to mine.
Sometimes it takes a little work to actually become aware of this, but it is actually unfolding before us if we have ears to hear and eyes to see.
No comments:
Post a Comment