May 21, 2022 – When Things Fall Apart, Pema Chodron

Like Children

“To what, then, can I compare the men of this generation? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another: ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’” Luke 7:31-32

“We are like children building a sand castle. We embellish it with beautiful shells, bits of driftwood, and pieces of colored glass. The castle is ours, off-limits to others. We’re willing to attack if others threaten to hurt it. Yet despite all our attachment, we know that the tide will inevitably come in and sweep the sand castle away. The trick is to enjoy it fully but without clinging, and when the time comes, let it dissolve back into the sea.” Chodron, Pema. When Things Fall Apart (Shambhala Classics) (p. 67).

Like Children

Jesus often talks about children – how we must become like children to enter into the kingdom – or he calls his disciples “children” as a relational term. There is a true innocence to children – how accepting and adventurous they are. But when we grow older, as Paul says, we put away childish things, and still, we hear Jesus relish the faith of children. If this world does one thing to us, it hardens us. Risk is replaced with sensibleness. Fun is replaced with duty.

When I was a child, the first thing I wanted to do at the beach was build a sandcastle. We would build the sandcastle with a huge wall thinking we might be able to keep the tide from washing the castle away. Nothing seemed impossible. Now, the first thing I want to do at the beach is sit under an umbrella and hope I do not get skin cancer – or hope the tide does not wash in any jelly fish. Everything seems to be a threat. Instead of relishing the beauty and wonder of G-d’s creation, I am threatened by every mole, rash and insect. As Pema Chodron so eloquently says, life will eventually wash away our child-like wonder and mystery with the tide of adulthood.

Pema writes: “When we become inquisitive about…things, look into them…with the curiosity of a young child, what might seem like a problem becomes a source of wisdom.”  (p. 66).

Instead of constantly thinking about our faith as something we might be able to “accomplish” or “master”, perhaps we need to remember how easy it was as a child to take a handful of sand and say “I believe…” – and then approach our relationship with Jesus with the same openness.

Let us Pray,

Lord Jesus, life pulls us one way and pushes another, all the while telling us wise up and grow up. Lord, help me to have the faith of a child and a trust that will hold back all tides of fear. Amen.

Pastor Dave