By Ed Winkler
Texts:Â Acts 16:11-15
11 We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, 12and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. 13On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. 14A certain woman named Lydia, a worshipper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. 15When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.’ And she prevailed upon us.
Luke 18:11-17
11The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. 12I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.†13But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!†14I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’
15 People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they sternly ordered them not to do it. 16But Jesus called for them and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. 17Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’
This is a great time in history to be a child or youth. The opportunities available to younger people are almost unlimited. We understand child development more now than we ever have before, and that has changed for the positive how children are educated and treated. Children and youth have technological resources that we could not even imagine fifty years ago—or even twenty years ago. The Internet was not only unknown fifty years, it was almost inconceivable. Now children can easily communicate with or learn from people all over the world in a matter of seconds. Some of the worst situations for children are things of the past in most of the world. Children don’t work in factories or mines anymore. The vast majority of children will live to be adults, which wasn’t the case even a hundred years ago when childhood illnesses claimed so many children. All in all, it’s a great time to be growing up.
Except… It is also a difficult time to be a child or youth. When I was growing in a small town in the 1950’s, I could get on my bike and ride anywhere. I never felt at all threatened or in danger. My mother, who was a first class worrywart, didn’t have any fears about me disappearing for hours at a time. It is not that way now. Most parents would never let elementary school children get on their bicycles and disappear for hours. I don’t know if the word “terrorism†was even a word when I was a kid. Now it is a real fear for most people. Drugs and gangs were unknown to us. We could watch prime time TV without seeing soft porn or hearing sexual innuendos. Now, children are exposed to many things on TV and the Internet far earlier than is healthy. In other words, it’s a wonderful time to be growing up; simultaneously, it’s a very difficult time to be growing up. Young people are often told how easy they have it. I think it was much easier to grow up when I did than it is now.
So what is a church to do? How are we to be faithful to God and faithful to a new generation? I guess the most common and traditional answer is that we need children in Sunday school. That’s where we’ll teach them how to live and how to be Christians. I’m glad that you’re seated when I say this, but I’m not so sure that Sunday School is the answer. I faithfully attended Sunday School until I went to college. I’m sure I must have missed a couple of times for illness, but otherwise, I was there every Sunday. I went willingly; Mom didn’t force me. And I don’t remember a thing. I know there are times when I think, “how did I know this story or that song?†And the answer might have been because I went to Sunday School, but I’m not so sure that the 21st century answer is children’s Sunday School. Adult Sunday School was a different matter; that was life-changing for me. But children’s Sunday School: not so much.
I’m convinced that the best way a church can help children is when its members provide good examples to children in the congregation and community. Children learn more by example than by words. If we say we’re Christians, yet we’re mean as a snakes to the people around us, what’s the lesson that the children learn? If we say we believe in forgiveness, yet we have no forgiveness for the people around us, what’s the lesson the children learn? If we say we love God and neighbor, yet we spend all of our time promoting ourselves and criticizing others, what’s the lesson the children learn? How we live is our best teaching tool.
When we teach by word or deed, we plant seeds. Here’s what I mean that planting seeds. I grew up in house where there was virtually no music. Dad was severely hearing impaired, and Mom didn’t care all that much about music. As far as I can remember, there were only two records in our house. (Note to younger people: music hasn’t always come on CD’s and digital instruments. We used to buy things called records and play them on machines with needles. Weird but true.) The two records were Dvorak’s New World symphony and the sound track from Oklahoma. I listened to those two records many times. Listening to Dvorak planted the seeds of my love for classical music. We might not have had music, but we always had books and magazines in our house. No one ever told me to read, but the seeds were planted by having reading material available and watching my parents read.
Churches can plant seeds. We plant the seed of love when we love. We plant the seed of love of church when we love our church. We plant the seed of love of others when we love others. We plant the seed of love of children when we love children.
We can love children by supporting them. We may not have many children in our congregation, but there are plenty of children in Charlottesville and the surrounding area. There are many ways that we can support them. We support children in need by our Buckingham Project where we provide school supplies for children.
I’m trying to support children by working in a small way to help control gun violence. I’m not promoting anything radical. I simply think that there should be background checks for people who want to buy firearms so that maybe we can eliminate a school shooting or two.
I’m proud that our congregation is supporting the Mollie Michie Cooperative Preschool. I hope you will all visit the open house in our education building after worship. We may not have any children in Mollie Michie, but we are supporting children in our area by having the preschool in our facility. It is a cooperative preschool where the parents do much of the teaching and administrative work. That strengthens families as well as educating children.
This idea of segregating the children from families in church is not an ancient idea, and I’m not sure that it is a good one. When Paul went to Philippi, he found women who were worshiping by the river on the Sabbath. After hearing him, Lydia became the first convert to Christianity in Europe. She insisted that Paul go home with her and baptize her whole household, which no doubt would have included children. The children weren’t sent off to eat pizzas and play games; they were treated as important parts of the household. Maybe that first century custom has something to teach us about integrating children and faith.
We can teach our children by our words and example, and our children can teach us. I roll my eyes when I hear people say, “The children are the future of the church.†No, the children are the present of the church. They are active participants and they can teach us some valuable lessons.
Jesus was teaching one day when parents brought their children to him to be blessed. The disciples, wanting to keep things quiet and orderly, tried to keep the children away. The disciples weren’t especially mean. Children were loved and were routinely present in those days—remember the feeding of the five thousand? Children were there, even if they weren’t counted as part of the five thousand. Children just weren’t usually allowed into the center of things. But Jesus didn’t say, “Get those children out of here. I’m trying to teach!†No, he said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.†Encourage the children come to Jesus; they, too, are part of the kingdom.
There is another side to this: children can teach us. Jesus also told this disciples: “Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.†Jesus’ gave us the example of openness to everyone: sinners, tax collectors, even women and children. Children teach us the same lesson. I’ve never seen bigotry in small children. It’s only after adults get ahold of them that they learn prejudice. Children can teach us adults some valuable lessons in living together.
Children teach us because they are natural theologians. At an early age, children ask about God. They don’t come with any preconceptions. We could learn from their questions and their desire to know God.
When I was retiring from the government and going into ministry, one of my friends, who is skeptical about religion and faith, asked me if I believed the crazy ideas of Christianity. The answer then and now is yes. As crazy as it seems, I believe that there is a God who loves us. As crazy as it seems, I believe God became a human being who lived among us to teach us, live for us, die for us, and rise from the dead for us. As crazy as it seems, I believe that God cares about how we treat each other. As crazy as it seems, I believe that God cares about how we treat our planet. As crazy as it seems, I believe that God cares about children and expects us to care about children as well, even if they are not our biological children.
Children—all children, not just those who share our DNA—are gifts from God. It is our responsibility to accept children, to teach them, to support them, and to plant seeds for their development any way we can, wherever we can.
© 2014 Ed Winkler