I have a general policy against using stories about my own kid(s) as sermon (or blog post) material. But I want to tell this one, because it illustrates one of the reasons I love the Godly Play approach to Sunday school: the way the stories offer language and images that even young children can carry away and work with in their own thinking, talking, and storytelling. Our son has something of an advantage, because when one of his parents is going to tell a story, he gets to hear it several times and has more of a chance to absorb the story. But I think that even on one hearing, a lot can sink in.
This past Sunday, our Godly Play classes heard the story of the Great Family – Abraham and Sarah, and their covenant to be the ancestors of God’s people. The story ends by pointing ahead to all the generations of Abraham’s descendants, right down to the grandparents and parents of the children listening to the story, and to the children themselves. As God promised Abraham, his family has become as numerous as grains of sand in the desert, or stars in the night sky (Genesis 22:17).
This morning, our son asked me, “Did you know I’m part of everybody’s family?”
I said, “How do you figure that?”
He answered, “Because everybody is part of God’s family.”
I answered, “Oh, like in the Abraham story? The Great Family story?”
“Yes,” he said. “His family was as many as the sands of the desert and the stars in the sky.”
I remarked, “That’s a pretty big family, huh? All the people in the world?”
Laughing, he said, “It would have to be a really big table!”
A “really big table” indeed – big enough for God’s whole family to sit around together. As Jesus said in this Sunday’s Gospel, for mortals such a thing is impossible – but for God, anything is possible!
“A really big table” is one of the best theological statements I’ve heard in awhile!!!