Reflections for 2/12/11

"Unless you become like a child, Jesus said, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and maybe part of what that means is that in the long run what is good about religion is playing the way a child plays at being grown up until he finds that being grown up is just another way of playing and thereby starts to grow up himself. Maybe what is good about religion is playing that the Kingdom will come, until in the joy of your playing, the hope and rhythm and comradeship and poignance and mystery of it- you start to see that the playing is itself the first-fruits  of the Kingdom's coming and of God's presence within us and among us." (F.Buechner "Listening to Your Life" p.44)

I guess I've always found religion fun. Maybe I've been lucky that the churches I've been a part of have always had a playful, goofy side to them.  I haven't been to a church filled with perfect people.  I've had plenty of laughs along the way.

Religion for me has been very child like.  Not childish, that's something different. Child-like to me gives a sense of not knowing it all, but always asking questions.  Religion as I've lived it has been more about questions than absolute answers.  Usually one question leading to another.  Maybe I'm just an inquisitive kid in an adult body.

And I suppose there is that child-like attitude in me, that wants religion to be kid friendly.  I try to make church a place kids want to be.  I never want to know of a time when a child didn't feel welcomed and accepted for who they were in my church.  That my religion is practiced in a way that as the ring master at a circus says, "ladies and gentleman, children of all ages."

I do wonder where it is that religion stops being child like?  Is there a time when we say I'm too old for that.  I can't play that way any more?  I hope not.  I may have a different skill set as an adult. I hope I still play life with the same level of youthful enthusiasm I had as a kid.

Blessings,
Ed