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Dear Friends,
Ah, for the first time in over 35 years, this week we did not have any children to come home to, wait up for, or pray with before eating dinner and sitting down at the table. Now, I ask you to avoid the temptation to do the math (I was a young mother!). Although we still have one more child to graduate from college, basically everyone has moved out or onward. We have lived in eleven different homes and for years that home was a foundation for joy, challenges, fresh starts, re-launches, and leaving the nest once or twice. This week, our house was quiet except for what I perceived was the super neediness of our dogs!
I love a noisy and full house. I also know that, in this next season, there will be more times I will go to our adult children than they will come home. It’s a season I have been readying and steadying myself for as well as celebrating.
In our scripture this week, we will dig deeper into the disciples’ objection to the families who were bringing children to Jesus. “People were bringing little children to him (Jesus) in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them.” (Mark 10:13)
We may speculate all sorts of reasons as to why the disciples acted this way. Maybe they simply didn’t want to or weren’t ready to share Jesus. Maybe they didn’t like children or the pushing of children at Jesus. Maybe it was that when they were little they were taught to be ‘seen but not heard’ in public spaces. Or maybe, they simply didn’t get what Jesus was saying when he preached that the Good News, the love and mercy of our God, was for all people of all ages in all seasons of life on earth and forevermore.
In this season of our life here and now at Holy Trinity, our children are all over the place sharing their many gifts of time, abilities, and energies. Just this week, the house was jumping at Family Sunday School and at Wednesday Youth Night (WYN). But our children were also in parades, contests, performances, and studies. Our children of ALL AGES, were in small groups, sharing coffee, worshipping, laughing, serving, praying, and doing life together!
Being a child of God is a statement of being claimed by God now and always, not a statistical number beginning with newborn and so on. I wonder how different this passage from Mark would go if we read it more like this…
PK’s wonderings - People were bringing children of all ages to Jesus so that he would touch them, because they had been taught that Jesus healed the broken and hurting. The disciples of the church told them to go away. Meanwhile, Jesus opened his arms and said, "Bring to me ______ (fill your name in), for the kingdom of God belongs to _______ (fill in your name)." And he took _________ (fill in your name) into his arms, blessed, and laid his hands on ______(fill in the word "me"). Now, read it again out loud to yourself. And if you have children or grandchildren at home (blessings on you), read it aloud to each of them putting their names in the blanks.
Blessings to you and your household in whatever season of life you find yourself in!
See you soon!
Pastor Katie
P.S. PLEASE, please bring in food items to be donated to the Food Pantry! Feed all God’s children.