‘Welcome the Children’ – As Jesus prepares his disciples for what is to come, they not only do not “get it,” they begin to jockey for position. Jesus is succinct: whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all. He takes a small child gently in his arms and tells his disciples that as you welcome this child, you welcome not only me – but the one who sent me. 

I wonder what stood out for you today. What was so astounding to the disciples about Jesus’ choice of a child?

Jesus takes the disciples to a place where they are able to safely debrief and pre-brief all that has happened and all that is about to happen. The way of the cross is clear: surrender, sacrifice, service. The love and the wisdom of God embodied. The power of the Gospel stands out with its clear counter-cultural call to serve the least and not to hunger for human ambition.

Psalm 1 and Proverbs 31:10-31 further illustrate the ancient choice of either seeking to live a life orientated to God or not and illustrate the ongoing call of the Judaeo-Christian tradition for God’s wisdom (now given in the eternal living presence of Christ) to be embodied in our own lives.

To what extent would we say the ministry of our church “positively impacts the lives of children in the church and in the world”? To what extent would we say that we, in our church, “encourage children’s full participation in the worship and mission of the church”?