Lent 2014
March 9, 2014
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of stumbling-blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling-block comes! – Matthew 18:1-7
The little girl was three, maybe four, years old. She was small for her age—very thin. Her dress was so stained and dirty I could not guess what color it might have been. It was then shades of brownish grey—so were her skin and her uncombed stringy, dull and lifeless hair. She stood about five feet from me as I sat across from her mother in conversation. Although the mother’s hair was combed, she looked like her daughter in every other way. Actually the room itself was in tones of brownish grey. The mother talked to my feet with her hand over her mouth. I suppose she was trying to cover up the missing teeth. I never noticed when the little girl moved but I suddenly realized that she was placing her tiny hand on my knee and was looking at and feeling my green skirt. I wondered, if that was the first green she had ever seen inside a house. I was there to tell the mother about a new program that was coming to a building just down the street from her. The program was called Headstart.
The cycle of poverty can be changed for the good when people are willing to enter into relationship with those in poverty. We ask a lot of people when we invite them to move from poverty to self-support. We are asking them to change almost every aspect of their lives. Think how hard that would be for us to do. Education is one of the major keys to breaking the cycle of poverty for children but for parents as well. Parents are our first teachers and the lessons we learn from them stick with us for a very long time. We need to help parents with the tools to assure that they can be good teachers for their children.
Prayer: Parent of all children of all ages, help us to see past the brownish grey that consumes some lives and open windows for them into the world of rainbows. Amen.
The identities of students, families, or staff in stories that are shared in the devotions have been altered to protect their privacy. Any similarities between these stories and the experience of others are coincidental. No stories about students, families of students, or staff from Putnam Heights Elementary School are included in any of these devotions.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.