Blessing Children

From the Rector
We are accustomed to hearing about the very simple and direct action of Jesus taking children into his arms, putting his hands on them and blessing them. We have a stained glass window depicting this scene.

It is heartwarming to consider.

It was a radical act in Jesus day. It ran against the grain and mostly people would not have responded to Jesus with any positive sentiment for what he did.

He was setting the world on its ear, challenging the structures of oppression.

Children were de-valued and on the margins in Jesus’ day.

Just as they are today.

As we gather children in, meet their specific needs and bless them, we are not, by-and-large, going to be rewarded with great enthusiasm. Especially as we serve children who are not “our own” (as in homeless children in the family shelter or children who come to St. Mark’s for tutoring in Math Adventures and Word Play) people will look suspiciously at us. They will question our motives, wonder why we don’t leave well enough alone.

The simple (maybe the only) answer is that we do it because Jesus did it – and we are the Body of Christ.