New Church Life Sept/Oct 2013 | Page 45

Innocence in Children and Adults A Worship Talk by the Rev. Solomon J. Keal Given at the Council of the Clergy meetings in Bryn Athyn, June, 2013 Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.”  (Matthew 18:2-5)  A s adults we are often in the interesting position of being both parents and children. We are parents or guardians of children, we are teachers of children, we are aunts, uncles or grandparents, or we are simply a respected grown-up whom children look up to. And in those ways we find ourselves in a role similar to the Lord’s, as the Divine Parent and Teacher of all.  But we are also all children of God, in the role of the ones being taught and guarded.   New Church teachings tell us that children represent innocence. And as adults we should strive for that kind of innocence.  The changes which affections undergo from young childhood to adult life were also shown by variations in the face. I was allowed to see how much of young childhood was preserved in adult life, and that it was this that gave adult life its essentially human quality. For innocence – the external form of it – is present in a young child, and innocence constitutes that essentially human quality; indeed innocence is so to speak the basic attribute into which love and charity from the Lord can enter.  (Secrets of Heaven 4797) There are many ideas involved in “innocence.” There’s the idea of humility. We need to adopt a humble attitude which recognizes that, compared to the Lord, we know very little, and we are not in control of very much, just like children.   In innocence there’s the idea of not harming other people, which is what 479