Faith Like a Child - November 18

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 105:1-22; PM Psalm 105:23-45; 1 Macc. 4:1-25; Rev. 21:22-22:5; Matt. 18:1-9

I watched a beautiful and tender exchange on Sunday morning.  A young child, probably under a year old, thrust her arm forward to receive communion.  Her palm was wide open, fingers beckoning the Holy Eucharist. One of her parents was trying to pull back her hand.  I looked at the parents, and nodded, and said, “Can she receive?” and the young child’s hand was released to receive the body of Christ.  As is often the case, parents wonder when their child can receive, wondering about how much their child must understand or know to receive God’s Holy gift.

There is something powerful about an arm reaching forward with a longing for what we cannot understand.  I teach our class on Eucharistic Theology and dive heavy into the 2500 years of philosophical understandings that deeply inform 2000 years of theology and the most honest answer I can come up with is a Holy mystery and encounter with the living God.  Watching the young girl extend her arm, reminds me that children have something to teach us about God.

Maybe this is why Jesus holds up the example of children inviting us to change and become like children.  They fully trust and put their lives into our hands.

We have been using the following prayer as our post-Communion prayer at our 5:00 p.m. Celtic service. 

Lord Jesus Christ,
you have put your life into our hands;
now we put our lives into yours.
Take us, renew us and remake us.
What we have been is past;
what we shall be, through you, still awaits us. Lead us on. Take us with you. Amen.

Our children entrust us to lead them on and take them with us.  It’s the same thing we pray for God to do with each of us.  May we learn from their example.

John+

Questions for Self-Reflection:  What have you learned from children or people much younger than you?  How does that impact who you are today?

Daily Challenge: Make an effort to have a child in your life teach you something new today or sometime this week.