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
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