UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST in SIMI VALLEY
First Sunday After Christmas - December 28, 2003
Anne G. Cohen
Colossians 3:12-17
Luke 2:41-52
FOR OUR REFLECTION: No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001
"An act to close the achievement gap with accountability, flexibility, and
choice, so that no child is left behind."
www.ed.gov/legislation/ESEA02/
No Child Left Behind
In my experience, there's no such thing as "No Child Left Behind."
"No Child NOT Left Behind" is MY motto - especially when there is a
litter of children involved - 4 in 5 years - like my parents produced.
When my sister, child #3, was a few weeks old, my parents took her with
them to a friend's house for dinner. She was asleep in a back room
after dinner - as my parents took their leave and went home. Jean was
so new, they forgot they had her. The friends were nice enough to take
care of her for the brief time between departure and return.
When my brother, Todd, child #2, was about six years old - we were at a
festival in a park in
and circled the park before heading home. Mom saw a cute little boy
running like the wind at an angle toward us - changing trajectory as the
car shifted course. She thought he looked like Todd. He WAS Todd,
breathless as he climbed into the back seat amid laughter and anxious
apologies.
We lived in Orange County for a few years and were planning to move to
Pasadena when the youngest - Pete - got left behind at the house we
decided to buy. We were already back in Fullerton when one of our new
neighbors called to say Pete would be safe at their house until we could
pick him up. They turned out to be our best and favorite neighbors on
our new block.
I was a teenager before I got left behind one evening - at a gas station
in Northern California - while using the facilities. The station
manager closed up and went home - and I was making plans to knock on
someone's door and ask for a blanket while I waited for my absence to be
discovered - when I saw the family camper racing back up the road to
claim me.
Leaving children behind - in my experience - is a natural phenomenon.
It's bound to happen - especially on family outings, vacations,
festivals and pilgrimages - when the family is numerous and the public
places are heavily peopled. If all ends well, we learn about ourselves
and each other in the process. If we're lucky, it becomes a teaching
event by which we grow in wisdom and humility - and, in our case, humor.
Children learn that they are not necessarily the center of the
universe. Some accountability and paying attention is called for on
their part.
Parents learn that they are not omniscient or all powerful.
They are deeply dependent on the kindness of a network of strangers and
friends to assist in raising and keeping safe their children.
For Jesus' family, it was no different. Like Hannah, once Mary's womb
was opened, it stayed open. She had at least four more boys - James,
Joses, Judas and Simon (they ran out of "J"
names) and at least two
girls, unnamed in Mark 6:3 - but we can guess that their names were
Johanna and Jesse. On pilgrimage to celebrate the festival of Passover
in Jerusalem, they traveled in a caravan of neighbors, friends and
family from Nazareth. The village that raised the kids vacationed
together - so, once in a while, someone was bound to get lost in the
shuffle.
Jesus, being a curious introspective first born - and a narrowly
focused, eager but typical 12 year old - was a likely candidate for
being left behind. Firstborn sons are traditionally dedicated to God -
even when they are not literally sons of God. And 12 year olds are
expected to begin their study of scripture and prepare for Bar Mitzvah -
their transition to manhood. That Jesus got lost in conversation with
the teachers of the Jerusalem temple is not surprising. That his
parents took a day of travel before noticing his absence is not
surprising.
That it took three days to figure out where he was - now that's a little
surprising. But it HAD been 12 years and 6 plus children since the last
angel visitor reminded them that Jesus was a special kid with a divine
father...
destined for a holy occupation...
And NONE of the temple elders took it upon themselves to call Mary or
Joseph to tell them where their son was...
And NONE of Jesus' siblings bothered to mention his absence to their
parents on the journey home...
So perhaps its not so surprising.
The point of this experience appears to have been to emphasize the human
qualities of Jesus and his family....
AND to remind everyone involved (and listening to the story) that Jesus
is destined for the family business - his birth father's business, that
is.
The story ends by saying that Mary has more pondering and treasuring
going on in her heart - something she hasn't had much time for with her
growing family. And it tells us that Jesus, obedient to his earthly
parents for the time being, grows in wisdom and stature. His parents
probably allow him to study evenings and weekends at his local synagogue
with the town rabbi - while he spends weekdays learning Joseph's trade
of rough carpentry - framing houses, repairing boats and docks, becoming
a fixture in the neighborhood - Jesus Josephson,
carpenter and
repairman. All of this is preparation for the day he is ready to answer
the call to his authentic vocation.
There are things in this story that we can compare and contrast with our
own experiences of being left behind. When my brother, Pete, was left
behind in the neighborhood we ultimately moved to, he was down the
street playing with some kids. He'd already figured out that this was
home for him - and it was for all of us. My father lives there to this
day - and my mom around the corner.
Jesus was left behind at the temple - where he was already
participating in the family business - in his father's house - where he
felt like he had come home. And he was so engrossed in that sense of
belonging, he was surprised when his mom and step-dad didn't see it too.
I've heard that many adopted children feel that sense of homecoming
later in life - when they meet their biological parents and come home to
themselves. The right vocational choices have led some people to the
feeling of coming home to the meaning of their lives.
My experience in the restroom of a gas station in Northern California
had none of these earmarks. But as an adult - quite a late bloomer -
left behind my peers, in a sense - I have had two experiences of
homecoming:
One, at the age of 40, finding my authentic vocation in Interim
Ministry, and
Two, even more recently, finding a life partner in John, finding that
the boy next door (or down the street) is home for me.
When Mary and Joseph find Jesus after three days of searching - their
first impulse is anger and blame. "Child, why have you treated US
like
this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great
anxiety!" How human is that? When someone has been lost or
left behind
- a normal human response to finding them unharmed is this rush of anger
about the suffering WE endured in the separation. Frantic worry seems
to pass through blame before settling into relief. It's one reason the
story of the prodigal son's return is so surprising - the father skips
over anger to relief and celebration.
When Elizabeth Smart was found a year after her abduction - alive and
functional - there was a public tendency to blame HER for not calling
home or escaping her captors - forgetting that she was only 14 years old
in the custody of people who abused and threatened her into submission.
This story about Jesus and his anxious, angry parents, can lead us to a
better understanding of our own human nature. Seeing it from the
outside we might learn to reshape it from the inside. A lost child
found needs immediate compassion, not a litany of how their absence
caused parental suffering. We can save that for god and our therapist.
And there is a component of the story that urges us to see that Jesus -
left behind in a physical sense - is way ahead of his parents in another
sense. He is comfortable among people older and wiser than himself.
He
is self-motivated, listening to the teachers, asking questions, amazing
everyone with his whiz kid abilities.
As we well know, not every child that is left behind physically is
academically and socially advanced. And, as the "No Child Left
Behind
Act of 2001" points out, some children get left behind academically - in
spite of never being left in a gas station or public festival.
In some ways our society has blamed the kids for getting behind - not
paying enough attention, not caring about their own future, inherently
stupid due to race or culture, gender or genetics or drug use which,
again, would be their fault. (Not.)
In some ways our society has come to realize that the system, the
environment in which we are raising children has a lot to do with kids
"failing" certain learning standards. Poor teacher preparation,
economic class handicaps, poverty and poor diet, child labor and neglect
contribute to children being left behind academically. We are beginning
to get a clue
that access to resources has much more influence over achievement than
race, culture or gender.
Which is why the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" mystifies
me. The
purpose is to close the achievement gap among America's children. The
process depends on ACCOUNTABILITY, FLEXIBILITY AND CHOICE - words that
indicate a gap between the experience of the children affected and our
government's understanding of the complexity and depth of the problem.
Title One includes literacy programs for disadvantaged kids, education
for migratory children, intervention for at risk kids.
Title Two pushes training and recruitment of high quality teachers.
Title Three is English language tutoring for limited English speaking
kids.
Title Four promotes safe - drug-free schools.
Title Five provides for vouchers to private schools - and charter and
magnet school subsidies - CHOICE.
Title Six is about ACCOUNTABILITY and FLEXIBILITY.
Title Seven offers special attention to Indian, Native Hawaiian and
Alaska Native education.
All of these sound good to me - helpful to children and communities in
need. The language gives a good impression. However, none of the
provisions are funded adequately in order to help at risk schools meet
the standards of the Act. Schools that don't meet the standards are not
given more help, they are closed down - placing an increasing burden on
a smaller number of schools. Flexibility and choice do not seem to have
a role here.
This Act was passed just before 9/11 and other priorities have taken
attention from implementation. The last act past is usually the first
act unfunded. And now that we have a couple of wars to pay for, I'm not
sure where even the inadequate promised funding will come from.
Accountability seems to be missing here.
And then there's the small problem of children left behind in other
countries, in particular, countries that we've taken apart with
sanctions and warfare. If we are to have a more secure future here, we
need to have secure relationships with these newly "democratized"
nations. This means education to prepare those nations for democracy,
for intelligent dialogue, for healthy decisions based on positive
values.
Leaving the children of Iraq and Afghanistan behind academically and
physically is not good for them - nor is it good for the U.S. Where do
ACCOUNTABILITY, FLEXIBILITY AND CHOICE come into play here? Wouldn't
adequate funding for public schools, universal access to resources,
serious nutritional programs and training for teachers and
administrators - for them - be more to the point?
Leaving those children behind will teach us lessons in ways we have yet
to imagine.
So I am mystified. It seems that No Child NOT Left Behind is really the
motto for our time. And these are times that call for a steep learning
curve - in order to understand the effects of our treatment of children
in the past - and NOW - and to find creative ways to turn that trend
around - NOW.
Jesus may have been a poor working class stiff - but he had access to a
free education that changed his life and our world. He may have been
left behind at the Passover festival, but he was safe in the arms of his
extended family - fed and clothed, encouraged and loved, known and
blessed.
May all our children - left behind or not - in this country and all
others - find themselves fed and clothed, encouraged and loved, known
and blessed.
May we grow in wisdom so that we may do our part to make it so.
**********************
BULLETIN
WE GATHER FOR PRAYER AND CELEBRATION
Music for Gathering
Welcome and Perspective on the Day
Musical Preparation for Worship - A Time for Centering
+ Call to Worship
(responsive)
One: If you
are lost, here is a place of refuge.
All: Welcome,
this is a house of God.
One: If you
are wandering, here is a place of belonging.
All: Welcome,
this is a house of God.
One: If you
are going around in circles, come and rest.
All: Welcome,
this is a house of God.
One: Bring
your stories, bring your questions,
bring your
searching and your discoveries.
Together we
will meet God in the very heart of it all.
All: You are
Home. Welcome, this is a house of God.
+ Christmas Hymn Joy to the
World! Hymnal # 132
+ Opening Prayer (responsive)
One: We are
part of a rich tapestry of tradition.
It has
served us well and yet the world has changed.
All: Creator,
open up our ways so that we might take new
journeys,
grow in
wisdom, respond to a changing world.
Help us to
grow in wisdom.
One: We want
to be a listening people, to hear our traditions
and also
hear new ideas and questions.
All: Creator,
open our hearts to new voices around us,
to grow in wisdom gained from new ideas and questions.
Help us to grow in wisdom.
One: May we
welcome challenges, discover answers,
explore and wonder together.
All: Creator,
open our minds to new challenges, new
wonderings,
to grow in
wisdom as we explore our world with others.
Help us to
grow in wisdom.
+ Our Common Prayer (unison)
Creator God who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,
on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our debts
As we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil,
For Thine is the kingdom and the power
And the glory forever. Amen.
Time for Silent Reflection
One: My soul
waits in silence.
All: God is my rock and my fortress. I will be at peace.
Silent
Reflection
The
Assurance of Good News (unison)
God promises to journey with us into unexplored
territories.
We may dare to go, trusting that God is with us!
Sung
Response "Hallelujah. God be praised!"
(CSB #5 Refrain)
WE TEACH, REFLECT AND PROCLAIM
Conversation with Our Children
Reading from the Christian Epistles Colossians 3:12-17
Reading from the Christian
Gospels Luke
2:41-52
Sermon
No Child Left Behind
WE RESPOND TO GOD'S INVITATION
Intercessions, Celebrations and Encouragements
Call to
Prayer
Be still and know that I am God Hymnal # 743
Time for
Silence
Our Joys and
Concerns and an Offering of Prayer
Sung
Response In Solitude Hymnal #521 vv. 1
& 2
We Offer Our Gifts So That Our Lives May Be Our Prayer
Offertory
Prayer of
Dedication (unison)
We are rooted in You, O God.
All life and sustenance come from You, the creative source of all things.
We return these gifts to You with
loving
hands that Your work on earth may take
root and grow and flourish among all people. Amen.
+ Sending Hymn Will You Come and See the Light? CBS #
86
+ Commissioning (unison)
Go to praise God in all that you do.
Go to celebrate the presence of God in all of creation.
Clothe yourselves in love and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.
Grow in wisdom and grace and know that,
wherever you may be, you are never lost -
for God is with you always. Amen.
+ Sung Response (we gather in some semblance of a circle) NCH # 584 Refrain
I am the Light of the World
You people come and follow me
If you follow and love you'll learn the mystery
Of what you were meant to do and be
+ Postlude
WORSHIP NOTES
Call to Worship is from Seasons of the Spirit curriculum
for Advent, Christmas, Epiphany 2003-04 (p.57) (adapted)
Opening Prayer Ibid. (adapted)
The Assurance of Good News Ibid. (adapted)
Commissioning Ibid. (p.59)