Jesus welcomes the children
JESUS MAFA. Jesus welcomes the children, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48395 [retrieved October 1, 2021]. Original source: http://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr (contact page: https://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr/contact).
The Story of the Children’s Fire
The whole community sits around a circle called a Medicine Wheel. Around that wheel are representatives of all the different aspects of the community. In the east, there’s the fool. In the West, there’s the witch. In the South, there’s the hunter. In the North, there’s the creator. Others positioned around the circle are the shaman, the politician, etc. And in the center of the circle is the children’s fire. Next to the children’s fire sit the grandfather and grandmother.
If you want to build a condominium in the community of Spirit Lake, you have to enter the Medicine Wheel in the East, at the position of the fool. The question you ask is, “May I build a condo on Spirit Lake?” The fool takes your question, turns it around backwards and asks, “What would Spirit Lake say about such a condo?” You then have to take the question the fool gives you to everyone around the Medicine Wheel. Each will respond to you according to their position in the community.
The last people you must ask the question to are the grandmother and grandfather who guard the children’s fire. If these two decide that the request is not good for the children’s fire, then the answer is ‘no.” They are the only ones in the circle who have veto power.
The concept of the ultimate questions is simple. Does it hurt or help the children’s fire? If it can pass the test of the children’s fire, then it can be done.
As heard from the elders of the Hopi Nation, quoted in Kathleen A Guy. Welcome the Child.
The whole community sits around a circle called a Medicine Wheel. Around that wheel are representatives of all the different aspects of the community. In the east, there’s the fool. In the West, there’s the witch. In the South, there’s the hunter. In the North, there’s the creator. Others positioned around the circle are the shaman, the politician, etc. And in the center of the circle is the children’s fire. Next to the children’s fire sit the grandfather and grandmother.
If you want to build a condominium in the community of Spirit Lake, you have to enter the Medicine Wheel in the East, at the position of the fool. The question you ask is, “May I build a condo on Spirit Lake?” The fool takes your question, turns it around backwards and asks, “What would Spirit Lake say about such a condo?” You then have to take the question the fool gives you to everyone around the Medicine Wheel. Each will respond to you according to their position in the community.
The last people you must ask the question to are the grandmother and grandfather who guard the children’s fire. If these two decide that the request is not good for the children’s fire, then the answer is ‘no.” They are the only ones in the circle who have veto power.
The concept of the ultimate questions is simple. Does it hurt or help the children’s fire? If it can pass the test of the children’s fire, then it can be done.
As heard from the elders of the Hopi Nation, quoted in Kathleen A Guy. Welcome the Child.
Imaging the Word An Arts and Lectionary Resource, Volume 1
Exploring the Text: The question of divorce
In Mark 10 Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees who ask him about the legality of divorce. Mark is very clear that they are asking this question, not because they want to know the truth, but because they are trying to test him, they are hoping to find a way to trap him. At this particular time, there were two major schools of thought among the Jews. Concerning divorce, one held for easy access to divorce, the other was much more strict. The Pharisees generally held to the more strict interpretation and were looking for an opportunity to accuse Jesus if he did not side with them.
Jesus directs the question back to them by asking what Moses says in the Law. They reply that Moses permitted it. Jesus responds that Moses permitted it because of the hardness of their hearts, but that it was never God’s plan. He reiterates that God’s desire is for the two to become one in him.
When we approach the law of God we sometimes do it like the Pharisees, looking for something that will backup our preconceived notions. Sometimes we approach it looking for clearly defined lines of right and wrong so we know what we can get away with. Both approaches are wrong. When we approach the Word of God we should do so not looking for what backs up what we already believe or trying to find what is the most that we can get away with, but instead looking for the ideal, looking for God’s best. That is how Jesus replies to the Pharisees. He doesn’t care about getting involved in the petty debates. He doesn’t care about drawing careful lines of right and wrong. He cares about striving for God’s best for our lives. He cares about God’s highest calling, his highest desires. God’s Law is not about avoiding the worst, staying away from sin, it is about reaching for God’s best for our lives.
This is the focus of Jesus’ answer, not where are the lines for what we can get away with, but what is God’s best and highest for our lives.
In Mark 10 Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees who ask him about the legality of divorce. Mark is very clear that they are asking this question, not because they want to know the truth, but because they are trying to test him, they are hoping to find a way to trap him. At this particular time, there were two major schools of thought among the Jews. Concerning divorce, one held for easy access to divorce, the other was much more strict. The Pharisees generally held to the more strict interpretation and were looking for an opportunity to accuse Jesus if he did not side with them.
Jesus directs the question back to them by asking what Moses says in the Law. They reply that Moses permitted it. Jesus responds that Moses permitted it because of the hardness of their hearts, but that it was never God’s plan. He reiterates that God’s desire is for the two to become one in him.
When we approach the law of God we sometimes do it like the Pharisees, looking for something that will backup our preconceived notions. Sometimes we approach it looking for clearly defined lines of right and wrong so we know what we can get away with. Both approaches are wrong. When we approach the Word of God we should do so not looking for what backs up what we already believe or trying to find what is the most that we can get away with, but instead looking for the ideal, looking for God’s best. That is how Jesus replies to the Pharisees. He doesn’t care about getting involved in the petty debates. He doesn’t care about drawing careful lines of right and wrong. He cares about striving for God’s best for our lives. He cares about God’s highest calling, his highest desires. God’s Law is not about avoiding the worst, staying away from sin, it is about reaching for God’s best for our lives.
This is the focus of Jesus’ answer, not where are the lines for what we can get away with, but what is God’s best and highest for our lives.