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Fellowship – Snacks or a Meal (10 minutes with snacks; longer, obviously, if there is a meal).

Gathering Time (5-10 minutes).

Perhaps for some, the Sunday after Christmas is a bit of a lull time. For dedicated participants who continue to gather for study and reflection, invite them to share how the young people (their children, their friends’ children, nieces/nephews/grandchildren) with whom they had gathered over the holidays responded to the gifts exchanged and received. Did the twelve-year-old niece get what she wanted? Was there a ridiculously long wish list for “Santa”? Was there a three-year-old who got enthralled by the boxes and paper wrappings? Or a teenager who gave you a knowing smile that said, “Nice try…”? Were there melodramas over who got what or who didn’t get what?

Group Dialogue (Approximately 30 minutes). Read 1 Samuel 2:18-20; Luke 2:41-52.

• The lectionary selections for this week draw our attention to the stories of two precocious young boys—little Samuel and little Jesus, who are both described as being remarkable in “stature” and “favor” with God and with people (1Sam 2:26; Lk 2:52). The passage in 1Samuel depicts Elkanah and Hannah’s annual trip to the temple to see their son Samuel. The passage in Luke recounts Joseph, Mary, and Jesus’ annual trip to Jerusalem for the festival of Passover.
  • What memories do you have from childhood that are connected to a trip, a journey, or a special holiday away from home?

• Focusing on Samuel: the text says he is “lent” to God as a child by his mother Hannah, as an expression of thanksgiving and gratitude (1Sam 1:27-28). As soon as he is weaned, Samuel is dedicated to the service of God, apprenticing under supervision of the priest Eli.
  • What do you think of such an act of dedication? [shows absolute faith? too “extreme”?] Do you think it takes away from the child’s agency and choice? [Children are deep theological thinkers if we adults would learn to listen carefully.]
  • If you have a young child, would you make a similar dedication of your child to the service of God?
  • What do you think might be the equivalent gesture in our time today—to dedicate one’s child to the service of God? [to commit to supporting their wholistic faith formation, spiritual well-being, and sense of vocation from a young age]

• Focusing on Jesus: Biblical scholarship points out that Luke’s story of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the temple foreshadows his vocation as teacher later in life and his unique sense of calling and purpose. The NRSV suggests the alternative translation for Luke 2:49b is to “be about my Father’s interests.”
  • What do you think of Jesus’ seemingly clear sense of vocation ( a sense of identity and purpose) at such a young age?
  • Do you know children who exude a strong sense of who they are and what they aspire to become in life? What do you think are the key factors in contributing to such strong and wholesome sense of vocation in children? [e.g., positive role modeling; safe and supportive community and environment; Christian education that nurtures curiosity, critical thinking, and wonder]
  • What factors might impede or diminish children’s sense of vocation? [forced faith; rote learning; gaps of resources; unsafe holding environments]

• The psycho-social-economic-physical-spiritual well-being of our children can flourish only within a wholistic ecology—a more extensive and inclusive notion of “home.” This requires the interconnection and collaboration among the social and cultural systems that share responsibility for nurturing them—the family system as broadly defined, the surrounding community, social organizations and civic agencies such as schools, clubs, law enforcement, legal system. The church also needs to understand its crucial role within this ecosystem and its responsibility in supporting the wholistic flourishing of children, and not just those within our congregations, but also those within the wider community.
  • How do you think your church is stepping up to such responsibility? When it comes to nurturing children’s sense of identity and formation, what do churches typically pay attention to, and what do we often neglect? [For example, we tend to focus on fun and games in church; we assume that faith is only “taught in Sunday school”; we underestimate children’s capacity to perceive their world and ask hard questions.]
  • In what areas could we do better?

• In different ways, and perhaps even in imperfect ways, Hannah and Elkanah, Mary and Joseph serve as examples of modeling lives of faith for their children. How do they inspire your own commitments to children (any children, not just your own)? How do they demonstrate that we can learn from children how to live out our faith? [Mary must ponder deeply the words the twelve-year-old Jesus speaks to her. His response to her shows a mature sense of identity and purpose that she might not have realized he had.]

Prayer (10 minutes). Share prayer requests and respond appropriately.

Sending Forth (2 minutes). End with the following prayer, a similar prayer, or the Lord’s Prayer:

Loving God, whose constant presence both comforts and challenges us,
As we set our hearts on the promise of another year,
and lay before you our worries and troubles concerning
the busy-ness of making home and keeping kin,
Give us grace to speak and act consistently,
that we may model a faith that is truly a blessing for our children,
and give us grace for the times we fall short.
Amen.

(Adapted from “Blessing Our Children,” by Thomas Rawls, in Raising Faithful Kids: This is the Stuff of Faith, edited by Denise Janssen, Carmichael D. Crutchfield, Virginia A. Lee, and Jessica Young Brown, 12-13; with reference to 1 Sam 1:16)

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Mai-Anh Le Tran is associate professor of religious education and practical theology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. An ordained elder of the California-Nevada Annual Conference, she regularly contributes to the ministries of local churches, districts, conferences, and denominational agencies. She is the author of Reset the Heart: Unlearning Violence, Relearning Hope (Abingdon, 2017).