The start of the tough questions..
Today, Big Daddy, John and I drove to church as we do on most Sundays. Our church has a grotto at the entrance to the grounds, with a beautiful large crucifix at the entry. (grotto may not be quite the right word, but you get the idea). As we do each Sunday, we say "hi" to the "big Jesus cross". This is what we call a crucifix or a cross with John: a Jesus cross. Today, came the hard question, one that stumped me as if John had asked where babies came from.
John asked me what Jesus was doing on the cross.
As easy question you say... But, I was stumped for how I was to answer that to a two year-old comprehension level. My husband and I have done a good amount of preaching with children, but this question from my two year-old little boy stumped me.
Big Daddy answered the question in a short, statement manner. We then all entered church and I thought perhaps the curiousity had passed.
At about the half-way mark during Mass, John was getting antsy and we went for a walk. Out into the beautiful sunlight, we strolled on the church grounds to a statue of St. Francis. We stopped to say "hello" and John asked me what St. Francis was holding. "A cross" I said. "No, his other hand, what's the hole in his hand?" was John's reply. (a little slow, but those were his actual words). The stigmata... Now my two-year old son is asking me about the stigmata. I answered this question, something to the effect of: well, St. Francis was very close to Jesus and loved Jesus very much, so he had marks on his hands like where Jesus did from being on the cross. Yes, very elegant and concise, I know....
Here's my quandry - I've often discussed with Big Daddy how we can ensure that our son knows the God & Jesus are real -- how can he differentiate them from the characters on TV for example. It may sound elementary and even silly, but in both cases, these are "people" that we talk about, we see in books and on TV, know their names, etc. I have to trust that when we pray together and attend church, that John is comprehending that God is much greater than Big Bird and that Jesus loves him in a much deeper way than Elmo. Any mom who sees how their toddler reacts to certain characters can understand what I'm saying. I have to trust that Grace and the Spirit are working in John's soul so that he develops an understanding and love of God.
So how can I explain Jesus' death on the cross? How can I explain death? That Jesus' ultimate sacrifice was an act of love? To a two-year old? I'll have to pray on this one, but I'd love to hear any suggestions for when the question come up again.
John asked me what Jesus was doing on the cross.
As easy question you say... But, I was stumped for how I was to answer that to a two year-old comprehension level. My husband and I have done a good amount of preaching with children, but this question from my two year-old little boy stumped me.
Big Daddy answered the question in a short, statement manner. We then all entered church and I thought perhaps the curiousity had passed.
At about the half-way mark during Mass, John was getting antsy and we went for a walk. Out into the beautiful sunlight, we strolled on the church grounds to a statue of St. Francis. We stopped to say "hello" and John asked me what St. Francis was holding. "A cross" I said. "No, his other hand, what's the hole in his hand?" was John's reply. (a little slow, but those were his actual words). The stigmata... Now my two-year old son is asking me about the stigmata. I answered this question, something to the effect of: well, St. Francis was very close to Jesus and loved Jesus very much, so he had marks on his hands like where Jesus did from being on the cross. Yes, very elegant and concise, I know....
Here's my quandry - I've often discussed with Big Daddy how we can ensure that our son knows the God & Jesus are real -- how can he differentiate them from the characters on TV for example. It may sound elementary and even silly, but in both cases, these are "people" that we talk about, we see in books and on TV, know their names, etc. I have to trust that when we pray together and attend church, that John is comprehending that God is much greater than Big Bird and that Jesus loves him in a much deeper way than Elmo. Any mom who sees how their toddler reacts to certain characters can understand what I'm saying. I have to trust that Grace and the Spirit are working in John's soul so that he develops an understanding and love of God.
So how can I explain Jesus' death on the cross? How can I explain death? That Jesus' ultimate sacrifice was an act of love? To a two-year old? I'll have to pray on this one, but I'd love to hear any suggestions for when the question come up again.
posted by Counting_Blessings | 11:03 PM
1 Comments:
Wow! It sounds like you guys did a great job explaining things at his level.
I know what you mean about Elmo. The past few years on Babycenter, the annual Santa discussions have raised the same issues for me. There's always someone who says, "I know it's not true, but it's nice for kids to believe." My question is always, "Why??? Why do you want them to believe something you know to be false?" Even more disturbing are the people who insist that Santa is real and they believe in him. I'm still struggling with literal vs. symbolic interpretations of the Bible, so I find these discussions hard to deal with.
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