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Childlysimplicious
A new word to describe the joys and the challenge of The Child in our Midst
He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’ Then he took a little child and put it among them [in their midst]; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’ Mark 9:35-37 NRSV
On this web page you are invited to engage The Child in our Midst.
There are at least six children you could ask into your midst in order to listen to and learn from. This child speaks, not necessarily with words we can audibly hear, but speaks nevertheless in languages we need to be able to see, hear and sense and interpret with all the power of Holy Spirit we are privileged to access.
The headings have been gleaned from readings and discussions over the years and some of these headings have been in use for some time. Books and articles have been written relating to some of these themes. They are gathered here as a useful reminder to the discussion so far. Some of the headings will be new to the discussion as well.
The Metaphorical Child
‘Unless you become like this child you will never enter the kingdom of God’ Matthew
This child speaks. We would do well to listen.
The Actual Child
The present of an actual child in our midst should make a difference. We have come a long way since the era when it was often believed that ‘a child should be seen and not heard’. Thankfully time and traditions have changed in that respect. And yet the it still needs to be asked every time an actual child is present in our midst, “So what?”
In what circumstances do we keep doing the same things in order to raise a child at the feet of that culture? When do we change facets of our traditions in order to take into account the presence of a child? When do not so much change our traditions but rather change our behaviours completely whilst being true to our traditions because a child is present? When do we radically change our behaviours and our traditions because they are just not working for us as adults let alone the child in our midst. In this case, the child in our midst clearly and plainly draws our attention to the fact that things are not working.
This child speaks. We would do well to listen.
The Representative Child
The one child in africa and the one child in our school community and the one child in our family are examples of the representative child in this picture. You may ask each of these representative children in turn to be and speak God language and God words from their perspective related to, for example, ‘Hope’. If each of these children are to be the word ‘hope’ (or its opposite) and elicit the meaning of the word ‘hope’ (or its opposite) then it will take careful ears to hear their language/and interpret their expressions. There is a danger that this will be a projection of our adultness of words and expression on the child but there also the distinct possibility of seeing, hearing and sensing the expression of God-words in and through the child.
This child speaks. We would do well to listen.
The Vision of a Child
As adults, as parents, as grandparents, as workers and as ministers we have a vision for each child in our care. We look into the faces of our children or into the faces of the representative child and we begin to see and pray and glimpse the mature adult, the mature disciple or the potential of each child. We see how carefully we would nurture and how carefully we would disciple each of these children in order for them to become this vision we have for them. In once sense we are looking at the actual child but in the sense that we aren’t really seeing the actual child but we are seeing a vision of this child at some point in the future. We need to consider ‘The Vision of a Child’ as different from the actual child in the present moment.
This child speaks. We would do well to listen.
The Child Within
The childhood memories of the good and bad times are brought to every situation by each adult. Sometimes the child within has been wounded in a past time and place and strong perceptions and strong emotions are triggered in the present time and place. That wounded child within is present amongst us in relationships today. This inner child is in our midst and needs to be heard and healing offered. Similarly, occassions of great joy or sensory significance can be moments of strong perception and strong positive emotions and can be triggered memories in the present moment. These can be recognised and celebrated. Both of these types of events can give rise to expressions of The Child Within regarding the lies about the things of God or the Truth of God.
This child speaks. We would do well to listen.
The Christ Child
In the Bible we are given pictures of Jesus as a child … as a fetus in Mary’s womb leaping on meeting John in Elizabeth’s womb; as a baby in a manger; as the memories of Mary; as a 12 year old in the temple. The picture of of Jesus as The Christ Child is granted to us in this way.
As the Holy Spirit comes to us revealing truth and correction amongst other things … can we ask Holy Spirit to speak to us from the perspective of the Spirit of Jesus as a baby in a manger, as a one year old, as a four year old, as a ten year old? What would we ask him? What would that conversation reveal about ourselves, our relationship with God, about our relationship with others, our history or our environment? What would The Christ Child reveal and express about God and any facet of God’s Truth, Love and Power in that moment?
This child speaks. We would do well to listen.
The thoughts expressed here are developmental and represent the current views of the author, Phillip Day and may not represent his views in the future or the current views of Scripture Union Victoria. Previous updates: 4Jun09 Last updated: 16Jun09