These days,

I spend a considerable amount of time

Thinking about,

Imagining,

Creating,

And Collaborating with a gifted cadre of folks

About how we

Nurture the littlest among us

 

I can still smell

the sweet musty scent

of the church basement

where I went to Sunday School

as a child.

 

I can still see the 

white plastic, church-light-coin-box 

in which we deposited our pennies

on the Sundays

closest to our birthdays –

one penny for each year of our age.

 

I can still hear the old upright piano,

slightly out of tune,

and so familiar

as we sang our Opening songs 

every Sunday –

He Leadeth Me,

O God our Help in Ages Past,

Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us.

 

I can still see the little chairs

on which we sat,

the tables around which we gathered,

the steps that we climbed to the sanctuary,

and the clusters of children and adults

throughout the one big room,

learning Bible stories

and Luther’s Small Catechism,

and that there are people of faith

who love you 

and care about you

and who want the best for you in life

and want you to know

and trust

and believe

more than anything else in the world

that God loves you

as God’s own beloved child –

full stop. 

No exceptions.

 

And I can still see Eunice.

Eunice was my Kindergarten Sunday School teacher.

Eunice played the guitar

and she sang songs

and she wore white fashion boots

and smiled a lot

and she taught us about Jesus.

 

I remember one Sunday

in particular. 

It was a day that we left the basement

for Sunday school.

We didn’t have to sit

on the little wooden chairs that day.

We didn’t have to sit still

for the whole hour that day.

Instead,

Eunice led us up the steps

that came in the back of the church,

and we went up the aisle

and got to sit on the floor

inside the altar rail.

We never got to go

inside the altar rail –

But that day we did.

And Eunice told us

to look up –

Look up at the picture that

was above the white and gold-trimmed altar.

Look up,

She said.

What do you see?

She asked,

when you look at the picture?

 

I was a shy five-year-old,

so I kept my thoughts to myself,

But someone said what I was thinking.

A man sinking in the water.

Someone else said,

Jesus standing on the water.

Someone else said,

Jesus pulling the sinking man up.

 

And Eunice smiled and nodded.

 

After she heard

everything we had to say about the picture –

the picture of Peter sinking 

in the water

and Jesus holding on for dear life –

Eunice asked us

if we knew what the name of our Church was.

I thought it was a trick question

because our church had two names.

And somebody said “Rosehill.”

Somebody else said, “Emmanuel.”

And Eunice told us

that both were right.

Our church was

Emmanuel Lutheran Church of Rosehill Township.

And then she said,

Today I want to talk to you about

Emmanuel.

She asked us if any of us 

knew what “Emmanuel” meant.

When we all shook our heads,

She said,

Emmanuel means “God with us.”

It is one of the names of Jesus.

She had us say Emmanuel 

with her several times,

And then she told us to

look up at the picture above the altar again.

Look up.

 

As we did so,

Eunice told us the story of Peter,

stepping out of the boat,

and trying to walk toward Jesus

on the water.

She told us 

how he started to sink

and how Jesus reached out to save him.

She told us

that there would be times in our lives

when we would feel like Peter,

when we would feel like we were sinking,

but to always remember

that Jesus is always with us,

that Jesus will always reach out to help us,

to pull us up to his safe arms.

She told us 

to always remember

that whatever happened to us –

whatever we experienced –

good or bad –

happy or sad –

Jesus would always be with us –

just like Jesus was with Peter

that day on the water. 

 

I can still see Eunice –

the passion in her eyes,

the smile on her face,

the joy in her voice

as she told us about Emmanuel –

God who is always with us. 

 

I have frequently thought 

about that day

over the years –

how formative it was,

how it has stuck with me,

how often I return to it,

and how,

when I close my eyes,

I can still see that picture

that was above

that old church altar –

and if I let myself

imagine it –

I can feel the arms of Jesus

reaching out 

in both gentleness and power

to hold onto me,

especially when life is hard.

 

Eunice 

is in her eighties now,

and I am fortunate

that I still have a relationship

with this one who taught 

me the faith

so many years ago.

In many ways,

I am still a Kindergartener

and she is still my teacher.

Eunice continues to embrace life,

to be full of laughter,

love, and joy,

still singing about Jesus,

still reminding me

that more than anything else in the world,

Jesus is always with me.

God loves me.

as God’s own beloved child.

full stop.

No exceptions.

 

Several years ago

when my wife and I

were getting married,

there were some

in our small, rural community

who were less than kind,

and Eunice sent us a card

and to let us know

how much she loved us both,

to congratulate us,

to speak a word

of acceptance,

love, 

and grace. 

It was a holy,

life-giving,

sacramental gesture.

 

Every once in a while, 

we will get a letter in the mail

with a clipping

from the newspaper,

or rainbow bracelets,

or a simply profound word of kindness,

And when those missives come –

We got one such letter last week,

prompting me to write this reflection –

it is as if I am five years-old again,

sitting at the foot of that old wooden altar,

staring up at Peter sinking in the water –

Jesus holding on for dear life –

and hearing again

and anew –

Jesus is always with you –

 

And I am reminded 

how utterly important it is

to keep on speaking

words of

acceptance,

grace,

and love

into people’s lives.

No one can ever hear too many times,

Jesus is always with you.

No one can hear too many times

God loves you.

No one can hear too many times

You are God’s own beloved child.

Full stop.

No exceptions.

 

And so, dear readers,

If you are a Eunice

in other people’s lives,

thanks be to God for you.

 

If you need a Eunice 

in your life today,

I’ve got a word for you:

Jesus is always with you.

God loves you

as God’s own beloved child –

full stop. 

No exceptions.

 

And finally,

thank God

for sweet, musty church basements

and the messages of grace

 

that get planted there.