Kid Books
Originally scheduled for May 5
With the possible exception of laundry detergent commercials, the
most difficult form of English language writing is found in the
story books for toddlers. As any parent can tell you, the kid’s book
is a little different:
·
First, it is a very tactile object. It’s made out of thick and heavy
cardboard to handle the wear and tear. Inside there are patches of
fur, or skin or other touchable substances. These must be touched
every time you read that book. It’s a child’s first “touchy-feely”
experience.
· You will
read this book over and over again. It must be repeated word for
word correctly, leaving out none of the sounds or sights. You are
restocking the toddler’s memory, and it must be done correctly.
·
Not only do the good guys win — always — but they must solve their
problems in the way they are presented. If the sheep don’t like the
goats, the sheep and the goats have to get it fixed. You can’t
introduce the good fairy in the last paragraph. The toddler’s mind
is a very tidy world.
It’s easy. You just write something that is
extremely simple and yet quite profound. It’s not Moby Dick,
but it might be Maybe Richard.
Communion, being a
ritual designed for all ages and all cultures, shares some of these
characteristics.
· It
is a tactile experience. You see and feel the bread and the cup.
Depending upon your denomination you may touch with your hands or
even share a common cup. It is not an exercise of the imagination
but a touchable reality.
·
For most denominations it is a regular weekly experience. It is
repeated so that you will not forget. It symbolizes the most
important facts of Christianity, the things you should remember.
· It is the ultimate story
of right and wrong. You know who the hero is going into the story;
you know his triumph over the worst of enemies. It tells you that
the good guys win in the end.
So then, let us tell a story.
Jesus, the Christ, is our atonement sacrifice who takes away the sin
of the world. He is as tangible as the bread and the cup. He went to
the cross, bled and died. He was buried in a borrowed tomb. On the
third day he rose from the grave. He is coming again to judge the
living and the dead.
So, this morning, as you partake,
listen with your mind’s ear to the story. The bread his body; the
cup, his blood. Taken together, they are your salvation — the
ultimate happy ending.
