Mark 10:13-16  ¹³ People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them.  ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.  ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it."  ¹⁶ And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

            One of the joys that I have every single week is getting to bless the children when they come up for communion.  I know they don’t fully understand what communion is about yet, but I think they get the bigger picture.  They understand that it is something we do every week, and that it is the time during church where everyone comes up to the altar.  But there is more that I see that I am not sure all of you see.

            Yesterday, I couldn’t help but smile when Brendan and Madison followed Sandy up for communion.  Here are two 3 yr. old twins, following their grandma.  What happens when they get to me?  Brendan comes running right to me!  He puts his hands down by his side, waits for me to make the sign of the cross on his forehead, and then he just grins.  Madison quickly followed suit.  Then they stood there and waited on their mom and on their grandpa to commune.  It was as if they didn’t want to leave!

            What would the church be like if EVERYONE was that eager to come to the altar?  What if everyone came for a reminder that they are a child of God, and then stayed and smiled as big as they could (with toy truck in hand, of course)?  There are times that I feel truly blessed because I get to see this enthusiasm that many of you do not get to see.  Perhaps a part of that is having a 3 yr. old of my own.  But the other part is that I know for children, it’s easy to understand.  They don’t get wrapped up in all the theological arguments.  They know that God loves them, and for them, that is enough.  It all makes me appreciate the scripture above a little bit more.  How I wish we could all be as eager to come to the altar.

In our prayers this week:  Robert, Ann, Charles (recovering from surgery), Norm, and Scott.

God’s Peace,