Army Men

Today I had the chance to speak to our first-sixth grade students. I always enjoy joining the older children for their chapel. Our lesson was from James 5:7-11, on the virtue of patience and the Gospel was Matthew 11:2-11. In this section of Matthew we find an imprisoned John the Baptist sending his disciples to meet with Jesus. I spent a long time thinking about John and his time in prison, and so of course my prop for today was a box of army men.

When my oldest son was little, he loved building forts of blocks and populating them with army men. We have a box that now contains a time traveling assortment of soldiers from the revolutionary war, civil war and both world wars. My question for the children was, "Historically, what was one of the most dangerous positions for a soldier to occupy, a position that has to do with John the Baptist?" There were many excellent answers, but no one guessed correctly- the messenger.

Think of it. Instead of waiting to be ordered into battle, the messenger is sent out to the enemy, or even a friend, carrying news that very often no one wants to hear. Often messengers were killed and sent back to their commanders as part of a strong reply. That's why Shakespeare spoke of "not shooting the messenger." At this point in Matthew, John was in prison for his role as God's prophet, or messenger. John spoke the truth. It was a truth which Herod saw as a threat and it was for speaking God's message that John was killed.

Jesus also comes as a messenger of God's love, but Jesus is not only a messenger, he is the Good News- the message. The season of Advent is a time of preparation and waiting to celebrate the birth of Christ. Now is the time to consider how open we truly are to receiving God's message for us. Now is the time to prepare not just our homes, but also our hearts for Christ.

Advent Calendar

Last Sunday was the first Sunday in Advent, the season where we wait in joyful anticipation of the coming of our Lord. Waiting can be very difficult. I've waited for planes and trains to pick me up, for packages to arrive, and for water to boil. Sitting in the waiting room to see a doctor seems to take forever, as can waiting for a special event, a visit from a friend or the birth of a child. I know that patience is a virtue, but it is not always one of mine. What I pulled from my box was a gift, wrapped and tagged and waiting. It was given to me several days ago by my friends the Hainlines. And on the tag it said, "Wait until December 1st to open." So today in chapel I pulled it out and finally opened it.

My gift was an advent calendar. Each day there is a window to open and a Bible verse to read as I count down until Christmas morning. Today's verse is "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. " Isaiah 9:1. I love advent calendars, especially ones with Bibe verses, as they give me something to do each day during advent. For that's the thing about waiting, it is only hard to do if we have nothing to fill our time while we wait. Time spent in an airport with a good book is infinitely better than without, and the best appetizers provide a little something flavorful while waiting for a meal to arrive.

On Sunday our Gospel lesson was Matthew 24:36-44. This passage may seem to be a strange way to begin Advent, for the verses have nothing to do with the birth of Christ, but about his return. They remind us that we must be prepared, for the Son of Man will come at a completely unexpected hour. I suppose the question, for advent and beyond, is how will we spend the time we have to wait?

I hope that you and your children can plan some wonderful ways to share Christ's love as we await his coming this season.

Hand Me Downs

Today my box held a real treasure in our family, a set of very worn Batman pj's. When my son Thomas was three he loved Batman and wore Batman pj's under his clothes every day to school for well over a year. (He also wore cowboy boots, but that's another story). In almost every picture of him at that age you can see the gray pj's peeking out from his shirt, or he has on only the pj's. We had several pairs, both short and long sleeved and when Thomas outgrew them they were lovingly put away. The pj's emerged when Xander was three, and although he didn't love them as much as Thomas they were worn quite a bit. And now Sarah Frances has them in her pajama drawer. As parents we often love hand me downs, because it gives us a chance to remember what our older children were like when they wore those clothes, even while loving the child who is in them now. But for children who grow up in a family with lots of siblings, who gets hand me downs and who gets something new can become a sore subject.

I imagine that the new coat Jacob made for Joseph was probably the straw that broke the camels back. You have to feel a bit sorry for his older brothers, working hard, with a little brother who liked to tattletale and had dreams of ruling them all and who was clearly the favorite with their father. The new coat, when most of them had probably had hand me downs, was enough to set off a horrible chain of events. The thought of older brothers conspiring to murder their little brother is horrible, that they sold him into slavery is not much better.

For me, the story of Joseph is a stark reminder that God does not promise us that nothing bad will happen to us, no matter how strong our faith. Illness, disappointment, temptation, failure, all these and more are simply part of being human. And while I don't believe God throws these stumbling blocks in our path, if the story of Joseph teaches anything it is that God is with us in the pit, and in slavery, and in jail, and that God can work through us and through adversity to bring about God's kingdom.

Next week is Thanksgiving. I hope you take some time to share with your child or children all you are grateful for and then thank God for being with us in good times and in bad.

Shoes

All morning long one of my favorite songs from childhood has been playing in my head. I suppose that's why I felt the need to put a new pair of shoes in my box this morning. They are some 5" heels I bought recently that a real kick to wear. In them I am quite literally 6 feet tall. And while I am comfortable enough with my height that I wear flats often, there is something about being that tall that is a real rush.

What is it about being taller that excites us so much. Remember the childhood excitement of being measured against a door frame and finding out you had grown? I now have one son who loves the fact he is taller than me and a second who is constantly standing shoulder to shoulder with me to see how he measures up. (And sadly, I think he's passing me, even when we smash his hair down flat). I think it is is because so many of us have stood on tiptoes in a picture or to see over someones shoulder that the story of Zacheus is such a favorite. You remember Zacheus, the "wee little man".

While I am sure if Zacheus had access to my shoes they would have worked, he was so desperate to see Jesus he climbed a tree to look at him. Zacheus was a tax collector, a profession despised then even more than it is now, and yet in spite of the wrongs he had committed against his people Jesus looked at him, and informed him that he would be dining at his house later that day. Jesus accepted him, and all of us, sins and all.

What would it look like for you to spend the day straining on tiptoes, or climbing a tree, just to catch a glimpse of God?

Costumes

Halloween is right around the corner. In our neighborhood one can now see giant spiders climbing on houses, ghosts swaying in the breeze and makeshift cemeteries popping up in yards. Every year I love the costume parade we have here at school. It's so much fun to see what all the children have chosen to wear. As a child I loved Halloween. Unlike me, my mother always made our costumes and after trick or treating in the neighborhood we ended up at our elementary school's Halloween carnival. There were games, and lots of food, but the highlight was the costume contest, with awards by age and an overall grand prize winner.

I suppose my love for costumes and dressing up was what made me put a wig in my box this week. It has long dark hair and will be part of my costume this year. Pretending to be someone else is always fun. With a few simple props I can transform myself into someone completely different. Someone who is scarier, or funnier, or smarter, or stronger than myself. In the Bible we read about Jacob, who dressed up as his older, stronger brother Esau, in order to trick his father into giving him the blessing meant for Esau. The simple disguise worked (of course it helped that Isaac was almost blind) and Jacob got the blessing he craved, although he then had to run away and it cost him his family, at least for a time.

We need to teach our children to think carefully about what masks they put on, because we can become who we are pretending to be. While the world tends to judge us by our outward appearance, God sees through our masks and costumes. Does the inner you match the costume you put on for the world?

Have fun this weekend, and as you are helping your child dress up, think about how you can also help her to be the person God is calling him to be.

Dog Biscuits

I love animals. Over the years I have had cats, dogs, fish, hamsters, frogs, turtles, mice, a guinia pig, a rabbit and even for a brief time a snake. I've had good pets and not as good ones. I've had a dog who used to steal the neighbor's milk after the delivery man set it on their porch, and one who ate the legs off my kitchen table. As a child these animals taught me responsibility, and allowed me to love, and also to grieve and experience death.

I also love stories about the saints. I always have. Growing up I loved the idea of ordinary people being called by God to do extraordinary things. This past Sunday we honored St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis was born in 1182 and had a carefree childhood as the son of a very wealthy family. However he turned his back on that weath and lived a simple life of poverty, committed to God. He established the rule of St. Francis which exists today as the Order of St. Francis or the Franciscans. He was known as being kind and loving to all, even to the animals, and died in 1226 at age 44.

So today to honor St. Francis I brought dog biscuits in my box. We talked about our pets and the Blessing of the Animals which happened at St. Mark's this past Sunday. I reminded the children that we are called to share God's love not only with each other, but with all of creation. I leave you with the Prayer of Saint Francis- another one of my favorite things.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Luke 17:5-10

Today I had the pleasure of speaking at the SMEDS Friday chapel. Our lesson today was from Luke:

Luke 17:5-10 (New International Reader's Version) The apostles said to the Lord, "Give us more faith!" He replied, "Suppose you have faith as small as a mustard seed. Then you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up. Be planted in the sea.' And it will obey you. "Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. And suppose the servant came in from the field. Would you say to him, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? No. Instead, you would say, 'Prepare my supper. Get yourself ready. Wait on me while I eat and drink. Then after that you can eat and drink.' Would you thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? "It's the same with you. Suppose you have done everything you were told to do. Then you should say, 'We are not worthy to serve you. We have only done our duty.' "

Even though it was the "big kid" chapel, I brought my box and in it I had a trophy that is so big it wouldn't fit in the box, so that I had to cover the end that was sticking out so that it wouldn't show. We have two of these huge trophies. They are soccer trophies that were given to Quinn and Thomas when they were 4 and 5. I'm not sure if your house is anything like mine, but we are filled to the brim with trophies. With three children playing three to four team sports a year, each with its own participation trophy, the shelves fill up pretty quickly. And I have to admit that participation trophies drive me a little crazy. While I know we want our children to feel good about themselves, I believe we also want to teach them that we do our best because it is the right thing to do, but that we shouldn't expect honors and awards for simply doing what we should do.

In this what can you do for me culture, it is important to remember that it is not about us, it is about God. And I think this at least one of the points Jesus was trying to get across in the very difficult lesson from today. We are created to serve a loving master. And we serve not because we are expecting a reward, a participation trophy, but because it is our duty. Putting God at the center of our lives allows us to experience God's love and spread that love to others. So as we go about our routines this weekend, I hope we can remember that it's not about us, and in remembering that it is about God, we can live the life planned for us.