Title: Pioneers of Children's Spirituality
1. Children's Spirituality of Jesus
One day people brought children to Jesus and asked for a blessing. Then the disciples said that they were annoying and told them to fight back. There is an anecdote in the Gospel of Mark (10, 13-14?16) that Jesus rebuked his disciples and said, “The kingdom of God belongs to children,” and then lovingly blessed the children.
2. Children's Spirituality by Da-seok Yoo Young-mo
If you read Da-seok Lecture (Hyeonamsa, 2006), which was given by Da-seok Yoo Young-mo (1890-1981), a teacher of the Korean people, at the YMCA in Jongno 2-ga in 1956-57, the spirituality of children flashes here and there, and I will introduce only two paragraphs here.
“God sent Jesus to play kindergarten pranks in kindergarten… We are preschool children, never omnipotent fathers. So it shouldn't be difficult. Isn't life really living as if children were innocently playing without knowing anything?... It's useless to pretend to be like your father for nothing, and it's nothing but a joke by a kindergarten child. Neither living nor dying is nothing. At this level, one can be called a Christian” (The Da-Seok Lecture, pp. 571-72? Reference pp. 460-467).
“Even children and infants praise the majesty of the Lord with their lips. The Lord has broken down the enemies and the vengeful crowd, and has built a strong fortress against those who oppose the Lord” (Psalm 8, 2).
“The passage of making children and infants praise the majesty of the Lord and defeating enemies and vengeful crowds is connected with the scene in the Gospel of Matthew. The Lord caused praise to come out of the mouths of children and infants (Matthew 21:16). Jesus answered those who were angry when they saw the children shouting Hosanna to Jesus in the temple courtyard. I would say that the words that come out of the mouths of children are verses that show that they are perfect…
The words that come out of the mouths of children are the words of the Holy Spirit, the words of God. It's just a compliment. It is the same as ever. A song that comes out of a child's mouth is especially a hymn. Our people who don't know anything are children. How many very wicked people? These few evil people are hurting our compatriots who are like children. All of our compatriots' informal sighs and incidental words were commanded by the Holy Spirit and are the words of God. I think the time will inevitably come when a sound like this will silence the few wicked people.” (The Lecture of Da-Seok, p. 761).
Da-seok's disciples also vividly testify to the teacher's spirituality for children. This is the testimony of Rev. Eom Doo-seop, the directing officer. “Yoo Young-mo often beckoned and sang in front of Han Ah-nim’s father, saying that we should play like children” (“Adult in the East, Da-seok Yoo Young-mo”, Muae, 1993, p. 128).
3. Children's Spirituality of the Jewish Rabbi
On the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur in Hebrew, in October-November according to the Gregorian calendar), Jews fast all day, listen to the rabbi's penitential sermons in the synagogue, and pray to repent of their sins over the past year. There is an anecdote that a famous American rabbi did not preach a penitential sermon on the Day of Atonement and played a prank with his young daughter, and the audience was bewildered. In fact, the rabbi gave a kind of small performance to educate children about spirituality. The full text of the rabbi's travels is as follows (written by Rachel Naomi Remen, translated by Yoo Hae-wook, Grandfather's Prayer, Literary Publishing House, 2005, pp. 106-107).
“The rabbi came to the front of the seat where the audience was sitting, took the young daughter from his wife and went up to the podium. He was an adorable baby who barely passed a stone. The baby slipped into his father's arms and smiled brightly at the audience. All the attendees of the event warmed their hearts as they looked at the baby's smile. The baby turned his face toward his father and stroked his father's face with his cute hand. After giving the baby a lovely smile, the rabbi began the traditional Yom Kippur sermon. It was about the meaning of the 'Day of Atonement'.
The baby pulled his father's nose with his hand as his gaze shifted elsewhere. The rabbi removed the baby's hand from his nose and spoke again. After a while, the baby grabbed the tie and put it in his father's mouth. I heard people growling. The rabbi pulled the tie from his mouth and smiled at the baby. The baby wrapped a small arm around his father's neck. The rabbi put his hand on the baby's head and turned to the audience. “Everyone in the auditorium nodded their heads, saying, ‘Everyone in the auditorium, is there anything unforgivable for what this baby has done? At that moment, everyone must have thought of their children or grandchildren. Then the baby reached out again and grabbed his father's glasses. Everyone laughed out loud. The rabbi took the glasses off the baby and smiled loudly, waiting for it to calm down before asking again.
‘When will there come a time when unconditional forgiveness is not possible? When does it become difficult to forgive? Are you four years old? Are you eight years old? Are you fifteen? Are you thirty-five? How old do we have to be to forget and forgive that we are all babies before God?’”
4. Children's Spirituality of Initiative
Children's spirituality is also hidden in the psalms of Guo Guo (1919-2004), a natural blend of faith and literature. Here, only the psalms of <The Hole of the Heart> and <Jesus of Nazareth>, which are widely known to acquaintances, are exemplified. Such sincere poetry is rare throughout the world of literature.
<The hole in the heart>
where deep in my heart
a hole is drilled
with that void
no that infinity
In touch with that eternity
Outside the void
inexpressible
from there
A strange wind blows
A mysterious sound resounds.
A divine word is heard.
i became a child
word before word
to respond to this
everything in the world
in my place and in my own way
Becoming a star and radiating light
As I realize my immortality
The futility of life becomes more precious
You are so much happier!
<Jesus of Nazareth>
You were not a thinker.
You were not a moralist.
You were not the present-day Gyeongrunga.
No, you weren't even the founder of religion.
So you didn't teach any knowledge.
You didn't teach any norms.
What kind of social innovation movement are you involved in?
didn't wake up
Nor did you teach any liberation.
On the other hand, you did not judge anyone's past achievements or not.
You did not weigh the many or the few of anyone's past sins.
Do you really think of everyone in the world?
overturn the horse
suffering and carrying heavy burdens
a person who is struggling
come all to me,
I will give you rest.”
Declare the liberation of suffering mankind
But God is our Father,
Are you the infinite love itself?
We fall into its arms like children
We forgive one another as our fathers do.
When we love unconditionally as our father does
Eternal happiness resides in our lives
Teaching that this is the 'Kingdom of God'
To practice the truth of that love by devoting one's life
The immortality of that love was testified by the resurrection.