Every Sunday morning, Diane loaded four grandchildren and two neighborhood children in her oversized late model Buick and drove to church. Sometimes Diane signed the children into Sunday school, but usually the six children raced up the stairs and Diane headed to Fellowship Hall for coffee. Diane pulled 4 overnight shifts at the hospital every week while raising 2 of her 5 grandchildren as her own. On Sundays, her husband cared for their 12-year-old grandchild whose profound cystic fibrosis required 24/7 care. Sunday was Diane’s free day; she brought  6 children to church with her. She was a very weary spiritual hero.   

Diane sang in the choir most Sundays and I served as liturgist, so all six children sat in church next to  Connie. They were affectionate, kind, and mostly well-mannered children making cards  or art for Connie. Connie taught 8-year-old Angie how to make clover necklaces; one Sunday Angie brought Connie matching flower necklaces that they wore all day. 

Six-year-old Chris had a lot of energy. One Wednesday, I heard a terrible racket and rushed down the hall to find Chris standing on a Bible and singing at the top of his lungs: “The BIBLE, well that’s the book for me, I  stand alone on the word of God the BIBLE: BIBLE.” Chris grinned impishly and raced off to class knowing I could not fuss too much as he was literally enacting the song! Sitting through church took every bit of Chris’s energy, so as soon as church ended Chris rocketed out of the pew and raced to the choir room, maybe to see his beloved mama or maybe Chris just loved to run. One morning Chris raced around the corner at exactly the wrong moment.  

Miss Jeanette was always immaculately dressed. Once upon a time she was very fashion forward, but one Palm Sunday, Jeanette opened her closet and saw 40 years of beautiful dresses she could not part with and decided that they were too pretty not to wear again even if they were out of style. Our hippest high schoolers loved Jeanette’s vintage look.  

Miss Jeanette was coming around the corner at the exactly same moment Chris came flying down the hall. Chris veered right but clipped the corner of Jeanette’s walker. Somehow, thanks be to God, Jeannette steadied herself along the wall and did not fall. Embarrassed, Chris hung his head down and apologized before zipping away. As children’s minister, I felt this deep sense of likely undue responsibility for Chris, so I raced up to Jeanette and profusely apologized. Some of our folks who witnessed the almost disaster were plenty angry for Jeanette, even scolding me, but not Miss Jeanette. Jeanette’s face did not hold a trace of anger, she  looked at the little crowd of gawkers and with a deep loving smile and said, “Paul, the sound of children in church is the most beautiful sound in the world. A church without the energy and excitement of children is dead.”   

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people like these children.” Some translations use ‘do not forbid’; I like ‘do not hinder’ because it matches Matthew 18 where Jesus tells us not to place a stumbling block in a child’s path. Maybe that word hinder is a call to craft worship and discipleship spaces designed with the needs of children more than our preferences?  

In our story Jesus names aloud a problem that the disciples might be trying to ignore. Jesus saw a large needy crowd coming towards them and asked Philip, “Where will we buy food to feed all these people?” John notes that Jesus is using this question to help Philip think outside the box about food insecurity. Stuck in a linear solution, Philip replied, “$50,000 wouldn’t buy everyone a happy meal if we had a McDonalds.” Matthew 14, Mark  6, and Luke 9 tell us that Jesus told the disciples, “You give them something to eat.” Jesus and the disciples likely said many things about the problem, but Jesus did not tell the disciples to send them off because it was the crowd’s fault, or that they should have planned better, or asked why they did not bring food along with them? Jesus tells us to feed the hungry, not blame them for not having food. 

In talking about children and faith, Mary Beth Franklyn said, “Children speak with honesty and clarity. They don’t say things that evade the facts right before their eyes.” I’m sure everybody was feeling it was time to eat, and everyone could see that some people didn’t have anything to eat. Now while the disciples are debating the impossibility of feeding such a crowd, a child sees the need and does something to help. Andrew reports to the hunger committee, “A youth here has (offered) five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that for a crowd like this?” It’s easy for us thoughtful adults to realize 5 sandwiches can’t feed 5,000 people, but maybe sometimes that is all that is needed to bring about a miracle.  

Love leads us to give up our meal when others are hungry. Do you remember during the pandemic when you could not find toilet paper because some of us filled our basements with 7×70 jumbo pack rolls? When we are afraid there is not enough, we sometimes hide our extra sandwich and push the apple slices deeper into our backpacks. Love offers. Love gives. Love tries to help.

John does not tell us exactly where all the food comes from, only that after the child shared their lunch, Jesus blessed those 5 sandwiches and somehow 5,000 people had plenty to eat. Not only is everyone fed, but the disciples took up an offering and filled 12 baskets. What is 5 loaves and 2 fish with so much need? Maybe it is enough!

Jesus warns us, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” What does it mean to have a childlike faith? Pastor Kate Fields shares, “If we are all made in God’s image, then some part of God is childlike. I think we would miss knowing part of God if we didn’t listen to what God is like through a child’s lens. Children bring so much joy to events. During the picnic a few days ago, our kids had a rousing game of tag going with lots of laughing. Our kids are so smart and have a lot of great questions to ask about the world, themselves, God, and the church. They offer unique theological perspectives that are not overly complicated but are very powerful: our names are beloved, God loves us, and God loves everyone. They teach me to be in the present moment — fully there because that’s all we have right now– and it is a gift to give someone– to be fully present with them. It is such an honor and joy to know, see, and learn from our Belmont children.”

Ingrid McIntyre often said, “We need to get out of our heads so much and just embody our faith.”  We adults at times look at the world and we can articulate problems as we should: we understand the systemic roots of much injustice and oppression as we should, but sometimes we need to just share our lunch. Sometimes we are paralyzed by what we think we can’t change and fail to do things that we can do. Sometimes 5 sandwiches, a homemade card, turning the air conditioning up a few degrees, forgiving your neighbor again, or giving a little more than we initially planned makes all the difference. Jesus beckons us, “Give without thought of reward and you will become children of the Most High.” (Luke 6) Our 5 sandwiches given to God might change everything.  

What do we have in our backpacks to give the world? Five sandwiches, a hug, a  good joke? Last fall two siblings shared a new joke with me most Wednesday’s during dinners. I looked forward to my weekly dose of second grade humor!  Amy Cooper, who leads our children’s music ministry shared, “Our children have the gift of a song in their backpacks. I believe the original song and desire to praise God is given to our children from God, and when they sing as musical leaders in church, they share that gift with the congregation, and honor God.”

Today we blessed the backpacks of children; let us not forget the deep blessing that those who are wearing those backpacks are. Let us celebrate the light they shine into our worlds and put nothing in their path that causes them to stumble. Amen.