Blessing and Celebration! June 15!

It is hard to believe that this week is our last week before the summer schedule of Kids' Word begins.  As I sit down to write about this upcoming Sunday my heart is full.  At the beginning of the school year I shared the following verse from 1 John with you as a framework for thinking about the work of sharing faith with children:

"We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of life... that you may also have fellowship with us and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ." (1 John 1: 1, 3)

As I reflect on this verse at the end of this year it means even more to me as I have witnessed the ways in which you have shared your faith.  The ways in which you have made the invisible, visible; the words that you have thoughtfully shared in story, in reflection, in prayer and the ways in which you have listened to the words of children.  The ways in which you have made faith tactile creating symbols from clay, making flames on headbands for Pentecost, making wind tunnels, writing cards, making pretzels for lent, making disciples - all of these activities stocking an imagination full of wonder and beauty and bringing the Word to life.  You have created safe places for children to ask questions, to wonder, to pray, to form community.

In all of this I have been overwhelmed with the generosity of your time, your gifts of creativity, your passion for children to encounter the living God and know his love for them.  It has been a privilege to work alongside you and to learn from you.

In our last Sunday meeting in smaller classes I thought it might be nice to take the time to bless one another.  The word blessing gets bandied about quite a bit and is co-opted in so many different contexts that it is easy to miss the significance of what it means to bless.  Here are a few thoughts on blessing:

In his book, The Life of the Beloved, Henri Nouwen says this of blessing:

"In Latin, to bless is benedicere.  The word, "benediction" that is used in many churches means literally: speaking (dictio) well (bene) or saying good things of someone.  To give someone a blessing is the most significant affirmation we can offer.  It is more than a word of praise or appreciation; it is more than pointing out someone's talents or good deeds; it is more than putting someone in the light.  To give a blessing is to affirm, to say "yes" to a person's Belovedness."

One of the Hebrew translations for the word Bless is 'barak' which means to praise, to congratulate, to salute.  It can also be translated 'esher' which is translated as happiness, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law he meditates day and night.  He shall be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields fruit in its season, whose leaf does not wither and whatever he does prospers."  Earlier this year we looked at Beatitudes and we used the words, "God is on the side of..."instead of "blessed" to get a fulsome understanding of the word Blessed in that context.  In the Bible 'to bless' carries with it a number of connotations but it is never a weak word.  For our purposes we will share words with one another that affirm our Belovedness, God's work in us, the unique gifts that each of us have.

Here is a further excerpt from The Life of the Beloved by Henry Nouwen, on blessing:

Not long ago in my own community, I had a very personal experience of the power of a real blessing.  Shortly before I started a prayer service in one of our houses, Janet, a handicapped member of our community said to me: "Henri, can you give me a blessing?"  I responded in a somewhat automatic way by tracing with my thumb the sign of the cross on her forehead.  Instead of being grateful however, she vehemently protested, "No that doesn't work, I want a real blessing."  I suddenly became aware of the ritualistic quality of my response to her request and said, "Oh, I am sorry... Let me give you a real blessing when we are all together at the prayer service."  She nodded with a smile and I realized that something special was required of me.  After the service when about thirty people sitting in a circle on the floor, I said, "Janet has asked me for a special blessing." She stood up and walked toward me.  I was wearing a long white robe with ample sleeves covering my hands as well as my arms.  Spontaneously Janet put her arms around me and put her head against my chest.  Without thinking I covered her with my sleeves so that she almost vanished in the folds of my robe.  As we held each other, I said, "Janet, I want you to know that you are God's Beloved Daughter.  You are precious in God's eyes.  Your beautiful smile, your kindness to the people in your house and all the good things you do show us the beautiful human being that you are.  I know that you are feeling a little low these days and that there is a sadness in your heart, but I want you to remember who you are: a very special person, deeply loved by God and all the people who are here with you."

As I said these words, Janet raised her head and looked at me; her broad smile showed me that she had really heard and received the blessing.  When she returned to her place, Jane, another handicapped stood up and said, "I want a blessing too."... The most touching moment, however, came when one of the assistants, a 24 year old student, raised his hand and said, "And what about me?" "Sure, " I said, "Come."  He came and as we stood before each other, I put my arms around him and said, "John it is so good that you are here.  You are God's Beloved Son.  Your presence is a joy for all of us.  When things are hard and life is burdensome, always remember that you are loved with an everlasting love."  As I spoke these words he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "Thank you, thank you very much." 

That evening I recognized the importance of blessing and being blessed and I reclaimed it as a true sign of the Beloved.  The blessings that we give each other are expressions of the blessing that rests on us from all eternity...

(from pages 69-72)

So, let us bless one another this week and celebrate that we are all God's beloved children.  For younger students in Grades 1 and 2 I think it might be appropriate if each student had a large heart shape or if they made a card with their name and a drawing on the front.  Perhaps we could write the blessing from Numbers 6:24-26 on each heart or card:"The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you, the Lord be gracious to you and give you peace." Then children can write something that they appreciate about each person on their heart/card.  Perhaps it would be good to brainstorm a number of phrases for blessing then students can pick from that list what they want to say about each person.

Here are some examples:

You are joyful

You are kind

You are a good friend

You are funny and you make people laugh

You think of other people and make everyone feel welcome

You are fun

You encourage me

May God be with you this summer

May you have a peaceful summer

May you have fun playing outside

May you have peace in your house

In the older grades some direction might also be helpful; you might want to have the students make cards with their names and a drawing on the front and on the inside they can write blessings - something that they appreciate about each person and a prayer of blessing for the summer ahead:

May God watch over you and keep you

May you know the love of God for you

May you have peace this summer

May you have joy doing ________

If you come early you might want to write a few words of blessing for each student; you may even want to read your blessings aloud to the kids at some point in the morning.  If you have ever been to the Cheezie awards as a parent or a youth leader you will have heard Amber offer important blessings to each student. She beautifully blends humour, insight and wisdom in what she shares with students and parents.  It is a highlight of the year and it is so important for kids to hear these blessings spoken out loud.

After you have finished your cards of blessing you may want to take time to share about summer plans.  Ask the children to share about what they are looking forward to and what they are feeling a bit nervous or uncertain about as they head into the summer months.  For some children who are writing provincial exams summer holidays may not on the forefront of their minds and they might like a place to talk and pray about exams.  Other children who are going to summer camp may be feeling excited and still a little unsure about being away from home. For other children being home all summer might be weighing on their minds particularly if their friends are going away; summer can be lonely for some kids.  I am always mindful that while summer holidays is greatly anticipated by some, for others it is not so carefree.

Feel free to bring treats that everyone can share.  Please contact me if you have questions about allergies in your class.  Alternatively if there is a craft or activity you would like to do to wrap up the year, let me know I will happily get you the supplies you need.

I hope this morning will be a lovely time of blessing and celebration!

The Feast of Pentecost

Acts 2:1-21

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

2 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

17 ‘In the last days it will be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,

and your old men shall dream dreams.

18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,

in those days I will pour out my Spirit;

and they shall prophesy.

19 And I will show portents in the heaven above

and signs on the earth below,

blood, and fire, and smoky mist.

20 The sun shall be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood,

before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.

21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

One day at the height of summer euphoria I was outside with the kids under a sunny sky, my ears were full of the delightful sounds of children contented by sandboxes and water spraying and backyard swings (I really do love summer).  In the midst of all playing I  overheard a little song coming from the tent under the pear tree. I was curious so I inched nearer the tent and the words of the song fell so beautifully on my ears: "I love you, Holy Spirit, you are always with me, you help me not to be afraid..." The song went on and on sometimes in two parts sometimes one voice carrying the melody; I stood outside the tent overwhelmed by the beauty of their worship to God.  If I had heard something like this from children only once or twice maybe I would just think of this as a nice story.  But, as I have spent time with young children I have discovered that this is not so uncommon.  I think children are often quite well acquainted with the Spirit. Spend some time listening to them and you might discover a depth of feeling and a richness of experience that surprises and delights you. There have been many times where a child has said something that I have felt was a word from God. On one occasion after a particularly long day of teaching I sat down at the kitchen table and without uttering a word (which is unusual for me) I dropped my head into my hands.   Not soon after I felt a little hand on my back and a wee voice said, "Mommy, I think you are a good teacher." Those words went straight to my heart; I recognized immediately that the Spirit was speaking a word of encouragement to me through my child.  Maybe you have a simple story like this or perhaps your child has had a dream or a vision from God or a song in their heart.  Do not discount this!  I would encourage you to listen, to ponder, and to be prayerful.  As we gather this week we have an opportunity to consider the gift, the mystery of Holy Spirit and to learn together with the children.

Our story today opens in dramatic fashion, a sound like the rush of a violent wind, divided tongues as of fire, each of the people in the room speaking in other languages, a large crowd gathering at the noise and commotion and causing further noise and commotion!  Wind and Fire are symbols of the Holy Spirit, you may want to spend some time thinking about them with the children.  The Spirit is like a wind, blowing into us the breath that we need to live, just as the breath of God created the world and gave life to Adam so the the Spirit gives us life to us.  Indeed God is as close to us as our very breath.  The Spirit is also like a flame burning in us - it is the way our hearts burn within us when the word of God is opened to us, it is the joy that comes from deep within and you feel truly alive, it is the gentle sustaining, the strength to go on when you feel like you cannot take one more step.  The Spirit is like a light showing us how to live in the way that God wants for us.  At baptism we are given a candle, the light of Christ and a reminder of the flame of Christ within us.

Now the Holy Spirit came to the disciples and their friends as they were gathered together.  At the same time as the believers were together many Jewish people from all over were also gathering in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Weeks.  Now because Jewish people had come from far and wide there were many languages heard in the city.  You could be walking down the street and hear people talking and have no idea what they were saying.  Remember the tower of Babel - how people were given different languages and they had little idea what they were saying to each other and they had to abandon the tower they were building.  Well, today at Pentecost that curse is reversed!  As the Holy Spirit came upon the believers they began to speak in different languages and all of these people from foreign lands heard their language!  Now, because many, many people in the world speak or understand some English probably very few of us have had the experience of being in a foreign land and having a language barrier, but if you have you know it can be a very isolating experience, indeed it can be very challenging to share life with one another when you don't share a common language.  AND when you finally hearing your language spoken well it is so wonderful, it kind of sounds like coming home! It fills your heart with such joy to be able to communicate that in your enthusiasm you might find the words just tumbling out one on top of the other.  (Maybe you can ask the children in your class how many people speak a language other than English; perhaps some will even be willing to speak and share their language with your class.)  So these believers began to speak about Jesus and everyone heard the same message! The Holy Spirit brings a connectedness between people.  The Spirit brings us together as the church to show people who God is; to enact his mercy and love in the world, to share with other who Jesus is.  Only through the deep mystery of the Holy Spirit can believers from all over the world come together and worship God as one body.  The Holy Spirit also connects us to life with God in the mystery of the Holy Trinity.  "Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, so Paul tells us, we're able to share the prayer that Jesus prays.  When we say "Our Father" we're jumping into that great mystery, that depth of eternal prayer, which Christ gives to the Father.  It really is like hurtling ourselves into a river flowing towards the mystery, flowing towards a kind of waterfall over which the water drops forever and ever.  The prayer of the eternal Christ to the eternal Father.  That's what the Holy Spirit shares with us." (Rowan Williams)

On the day of Pentecost the reaction of the crowd was varied, some were amazed and received Christ others were cynical and mocking.  We know about this tendency towards cynicism, all too easily we find ourselves standing back, looking on with skepticism and choosing to sneer. And to the crowd Peter spoke the words of the prophet Joel to all gathered: "I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams." May God give us his words to speak, give us his vision and dreams, filled with his Spirit that we might show the world the love of God.

Today we celebrate the birthday of the church!  Let us be sure to remind the children that the church is not our physical building but the people of God gathered around the world.  Maybe you want to look at a map, talk about all the places people in your class have connection to around the world.  Perhaps you have a story to share about the church in another part of the world. Children might mention the church in Haiti as we have spoken quite a lot about of our brothers and sisters there.

Here is how the Jesus Storybook Bible tells the story of Pentecost:

Suddenly, a strong wind filled the little room, whistling through the walls, rustling straw on the floor.  And there on everyone's heads, shining in the gloom were flickering flames.  Fire that did not hurt or burn.  And something more, in their hearts they felt a strange heat, almost as if the coldness and hardness were melting away.  As if their broken hearts were mending.  And God was giving them brand new hearts - hearts that could work properly.  How it happened they didn't know, but they knew God's power had struck their hearts ablaze - and Jesus himself was coming to live inside them.  they had seen Jesus go away, but now he was closer than he had ever been - inside their hearts.  And this time nothing could ever separate them.  Jesus would always be there. With them. Loving them. Whispering the promise that would get rid of the poison and the terrible lie and sickness in their hearts.  God's wonderful promise to them: "you are my child and I love you".  "Make my home in me, as I make my home in you," Jesus had said.  Could it be? Heaven was coming into their hearts. They threw open the shutters sunlight flooded their room as love flooded their hearts.  And the little room was filled with happy noises. Dancing feet, singing, laughing.  They unlocked the door and surged out into the streets - as if they had never been afraid.

Peter spoke in a loud voice, so everyone could hear: "Jesus died for you! Because he loves you God made him alive again.  He has rescued you!"  People stopped.  And listened.  The words sank down deep into their hears and worked like medicine that makes you well.  Like a kiss that wakes you up from a deep sleep.  "Stop running away from God," Peter said, "Run to him instead! So he can love you and make you free!"  And Peter told them the wonderful story of God's love.  How Jesus had come and all that had happened.

There were lots of people from faraway countries in Jerusalem.  They couldn't speak the same language but as they listened to Peter, everyone could understand what he was saying in their own languages!  Many people believed.  And became Jesus' new friends and helpers.  And the wonderful news of Jesus spread.  Like sparks from a fire. To villages. Towns. Cities.  Every day more and more people believed.  And so it was that the family of God's children, his special people, grew.  And nothing in the world would ever be able to stop it.

- Sally Lloyd- Jones

HAPPY PENTECOST!