Good morning to my younger Emmanuel friends! I hope that you had a chance to read our Gospel this morning, or that your parents read it to you. But let’s go over it together for a bit anyway. In this story, Jesus is walking around with his friends and a woman yells to get his attention. But Jesus and his friends ignore her because she is a Canaanite, which really just means that she is not a part of their friend group. But this woman won’t take no for an answer. She keeps following Jesus and shouting for his attention. He finally gives in and talks to her. He is a little rude at first, but then shows her mercy and helps her sick daughter.

Now while it might be hard for us to imagine Jesus not immediately being kind. We know that sometimes we all lose our patience and then are unkind. This happens to adults especially. And this is where you come in, my friends. Sometimes adults lose sight of the important stuff. They focus on labels and logistics and have trouble being in the here and now. And this is how you can help!

Younger people, like yourselves, have the natural ability to be in the moment and know what is important. So your job is to help the adults in your life focus on the right stuff. You can be just like the Canaanite woman who reminded Jesus what was really important. Can you all do that for me? Great! Amen.

— Grace Pratt, August 2020

Spirituality The Episcopal Church Children's Homily Clergy Ordinary Time Parishioners Podcast The Rev. Grace Pratt