“I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven on account of his name. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young people, because you have conquered the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you are strong and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” (1 John 2:12-14)
“Fathers,” “young people,” “children,” it’s almost like John is practicing what we now call Intergenerational Ministry in the church. Many months ago, as I was reflecting on my amazing experience at Presbyterian Youth Triennium in the summer of 2019, I wrote a Pulpit & Pew article about Intergenerational Ministry. More recently, we structured the lighting of the Advent candles around “IM” (as it goes by for short). As I read over today’s daily reading from the PCUSA’s website (where I get all of the readings for these devotions), I was reminded again that God has made us a people that cuts across the generations because the fullness of God’s glory is only seen in the intergenerational church at worship.
What I find most riveting about 1 John’s selection today is how interdependent we are upon one another (made all the more impressive because we live in a world that urges us to be independent of one another). Of course, there’s a lot that is mystifying about this passage too. Let’s look at both the order and content of what John writes (side note: Please take “Fathers” to mean “Fathers and Mothers” or “Parents” because John wrote in a time that was not gender inclusive, but the Church trusts that these words do not only apply to men):
- Children – sins are forgiven
- Fathers – know him who is from the beginning (e.g. Jesus Christ)
- Young People – conquered the evil one
- Children – know the Father
- Fathers – know him who is from the beginning (still Jesus)
- Young People – are strong, the Word of God abiding in them, and have overcome the evil one
So many questions! Why that odd order (instead of oldest to youngest or youngest to oldest)? Why the redundancy for “Fathers,” the near-redundancy for “Young People,” and the diversity for “Children”? I’m quite confident I don’t have great answers to these questions (though I’d love to hear what you think!). Instead, I’m contented to just see how we need one another.
We need children in our church because they are forgiven and know the Father. They are our lifeline into this knowledge and our reminder that we, too, are forgiven. We need young people (shall we call this group ages 15-54? Is that too arbitrary?) because they are strong, resisting evil, conquering the evil one; all that to say, they remind us to hope and not despair. And then comes the “Fathers” (read: “Parents”), who demonstrate what it means to be long in the faith, knowing Jesus through the ages and stages of development and life.
Another way to think about this is to imagine the sort of church we’d have if we only had one generation. A church of only children will still know God the Father’s love and forgiveness (for this is foundational to who God is), but they wouldn’t know to yearn and strain and feel the urge to grow, for they are children, contented to rest in a good thing and never pursue more. A church of only young people would be a wild, raucous affair. There’d be plenty of activity – what with all that strength and vigor – but in always contending with evil and flexing their muscle, they could easily lose track of the free gift of God’s love and grace that children so embody. Finally, consider a church of only parents. They’d know the love and forgiveness; they would’ve spent their time striving and flexing. But they’d see no future, no one to pass along what (and who!) they’ve known “from the beginning.” Sadly, for many churches, this last scenario is more reality than imagination (though, thanks be to our God who blesses us richly, it is not the case for FPC!).
All of this to say, every person – from young to old – has something to offer the church. The reason we are always continuing to grow our intergenerational ministry is because a church without each generation uniquely blessing the others will rapidly devolve into a pitiable mess. It is not the case that the old have all the goods to dole out to the young, but rather that young and old alike come together – reminding, sharing, blessing, serving.
Thanks be to God for making us an Intergenerational Church. Let us live that blessing in all we do. Amen.
