They’re ALL Our Children
Note: this post was originally published in Northern Lights, the e-letter of the NW MN Synod ELCA in April of 2011. Some statistics reflect 2011 realities, not 2019 realities.
“[Jesus said], ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop
them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell
you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never
enter it.’ And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed
them.” Mark 10:14-16
When it comes to words, the smallest ones are often the most
important—prepositions and pronouns especially. In the Next Generation vision it’s critical
that we define “our” very carefully.
Just who, exactly are “our” children?
Let’s resist our natural tendency to narrow the definition of
“our.” “Our” children must be more than
the kids in “our” homes or “our” congregations. What
if we considered all members of the next generation with whom we have any
relationship whatsoever “our” children? What if we accepted radical responsibility
for all of these children? What if we drew the circle as big as we might
imagine it to be?
Starting with the Inner Circle
To talk this way is not to deny our responsibility for the
children in our innermost circles of kinship and relationship. Surely we will think of the children we have
birthed or adopted as “our” children.
When a child comes into our lives the whole world changes for us. As followers of Jesus we will avoid
spiritual child abuse or neglect; we
will assume a profound responsibility to “help [our] children grow in the
Christian faith and life.” (“Holy
Baptism,” Evangelical Lutheran Worship,
p. 228)
But such “inner circle” responsibility cannot be borne alone by
parents. For good reason the entire
Christian community faces the baptismal font, everyone promising “to support
[the baptized ones] and pray for them in their new life in Christ.” (ELW, p.
228) In Holy Baptism, all
children—whether they are carried to the font or walk on their own two
feet—become God’s children and “our” children.
Several years ago, during a presidential election, folks asked: “Which
does it take to raise a child—a family or a village?” What a silly question! It takes both a family and a village
(or congregation) to raise a child in Christian faith and life. They’re all our children!
This has profound implications for our priorities. The older generation has always borne a
special responsibility for the next generation. We undertake sacrifices, commit resources, and
make huge investments in all our children.
We do this together, cognizant
of the fact that all Christian adults are also Christian parents. Our care for the children in our homes and
churches is foundational for all the ways we tend the other children whom God
entrusts to us.
And for how long do we bear such radical responsibility for all
our children? When do Christian parents
get to “retire?” Several years ago, on a
Confirmation Sunday, I did something rather mean. I preached my sermon primarily to the parents of the confirmands. Recalling the promises they made when their
kids were baptized, I asked them when they would be finished fulfilling those
promises? (I’m guessing most of them
thought they were finished that day—it was Confirmation Sunday, after all!)
Here’s the mean thing I did.
I quoted the words from the liturgy of Baptism in the Lutheran Book of Worship, including these
words: “As they grow in years, you should…provide for their instruction in the
Christian faith, that, living in the covenant of their Baptism and in communion
with the Church, they may lead godly lives until the day of Jesus Christ.” There’s the end date for our Christian
parenting: when Jesus returns to usher
in God’s New Creation. We’re not
finished with our responsibilities to the next generation until then! Even if you have adult children, your calling
to help form Jesus Christ in them (Galatians 4:19) is not finished until the Day
of Resurrection.
The Next Generation in Our Communities
But is it enough for us to look after all our children in the
inner circles of our homes and congregations?
What about all the other kids in our “mission field?” Are they not, also in some sense, “our”
children?
A pastor who used to serve in our synod loved to walk her dog
through the small town where she served—attracting children who loved to pet
the dog. The pastor’s dog helped open up
ways to express love and care for all the children of her town.
Aren’t we always stumbling across such opportunities in our
callings to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-14) in our communities? The next generation all around us—in our
communities—they are also “our” children.
And we tend to under-estimate how many of them are out there.
Question: in the 21
counties that make up our synod, who do we have more of—children and youth
under the age of 18, or senior adults age 65 and older? Which of these cohorts in our region’s population
is larger?
When I have posed this question in congregations up and down
western Minnesota, almost always I have heard this answer: “Oh goodness, we have lots more old folks
than youth in our community!” And almost always this answer is dead
wrong! Here’s what we discover in
the latest demographic data regarding the territory covered by our synod:
Age category Numbers of such persons Percentage of such persons
Under age 18 93,566 23.5%
Age 65+ 67,603 17%
Nearly one-quarter of the almost 400,000 residents of our
synod’s 21 counties are under the age of 18.
This holds true in 17 of the 21 counties of the synod.[1] Truly, the next generation is all around
us! And they are, in a sense, all “our”
children: children to treasure, know by
name, pray for, and invite into the Christian life.
What if our synod became known as “the church that cares
passionately for all God’s children?”
What if we bent over backwards to invite the children, youth and their families
to all the good things God is doing in our congregations?
What if, when issues of public policy were being discussed, we
Lutherans became identified as those who consistently stand on the side of what’s
best for the next generation? Part of
our callings in Christ entails our citizenship. Periodically we are faced with stark choices
about our common life today and the kind of future that we can anticipate.
School referendum elections determine whether our education
system will remain strong and vital—but often these turn into battlegrounds
that divide communities. Empty-nesters
and other older adults say things like:
“I don’t have any kids in the schools” or “my kids have graduated—we’ve
paid our dues.” But, my dear friends in
Christ, are not all the kids in our communities “our” children, regardless of
our own age or circumstances?
In an article that recently appeared in Newsweek magazine, Fareed Zakaria wrote: “American politics is now hyperresponsive to
constituents’ interests. And all those
interests are dedicated to preserving the past rather than investing for the
future….There are no special-interest groups for our children’s economic well-being,
only for people who get government benefits right now….That is why the federal
government spends $4 on elderly people for every $1 it spends on those under
18. And when the time comes to make
cuts, guess whose programs are first on the chopping board. That is a terrible sign of society’s
priorities and outlook.”[2]
Once we start asking who are “our” children, the circle just
keeps expanding. It becomes only
natural for us to claim as “ours”
All the children and grandchildren of our homes and congregations
who may have moved to other locales but who are still tied to us by bonds of
kinship and care;
·
All the children of Minnesota and the United States;
·
All the children of God’s world, including the amazing youth of
our companion synod, the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church in southern India.
Before I close this article, I need to address a question you
may be wondering about. Does all this
attention to the next generation mean that we no longer care about the “elders”
in our homes, churches and communities?
Far from it! One of my seminary
professors liked to say: “Preach to the
eighth graders, and everyone else will listen.”
When we undertake the great generational task
of raising up our children, when we make our young ones our priority—lo and
behold, all of society and all of the church is blessed. It’s about those of us who have walked long
in faith leaving the best legacy for the ones who will replace us in serving
God’s mission.
Your Brother in Christ,
Lawrence
R. Wohlrabe
Bishop,
Northwestern Minnesota Synod
Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America
God’s work. Our hands.
For
reflection and discussion:
1.
How do you and the disciples in your
congregation keep the promises you make every time you participate in a
Baptism? What more might God be calling
you to do for the baptized?
2.
What
are some implications of the notion that Christian parents/adults never really
“retire” from their responsibilities to the next generation?
3.
Why
do we tend to under-estimate the number of children and youth in our
communities?
4.
Besides
school referendum elections, what are some other public policy issues that have
a direct effect on the next generation?
[1] U.S.
Census Bureau data available at http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/STGeoSearchByListServlet?_lang=en&_ts=319216362078 (accessed on 3/26/2011)
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