5 Minute Reflection #14.09: Blessed Are The Cool Kids

The cool kids at NBC Chicago Channel 5 TV

Who are the "cool kids"?

The Cool Kids is an alternative hip hop duo, composed of rappers Antoine "Sir Michael Rocks" Reed and Evan "Chuck Inglish" Ingersoll. 

In high school, the cool kids are the leading athletes, the leading scholars (sometimes) , the prom king and queen and their entourages. They have the teacher's ear. At work, the cool kids have the boss's ear. At church, the cool kids have the pastor's ear. 

The cool kids are the movie stars, the professional athletes, the TV personalities and the hot shot entrepreneurs.

The cool kids are also the teenager who delivers your pizza, the mother of three working the midnight shift at the oatmeal factory, the fellow who dries your windows at the car wash, the soldier, the sailor, the police officer and the flight attendant.The cool kids are everywhere. They serve their country, their families, and you. The cool kids are also the woman at the well, the widow with only pennies to her name, the men on the bridges over the Chicago River, dependent on the generosity of strangers. 

The cool kids are those who serve, those who have served but can no longer serve and those who never could but wanted to.

If we could ask Jesus, "Who are the cool kids"" he might say,

The cool kids are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

The cool kids are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 

The cool kids are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 

The cool kids are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 

The cool kids are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 

The cool kids are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 

The cool kids are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons and daughters of God. 

The cool kids are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

The cool kids are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 

5 Minute Reflection #14.04: Messages To A Time We Will Not See

This post is a little different than most of mine. It's not like an essay with a beginning, middle and end. Instead it is a collection of thoughts and images about children. In some cases the ideas are familiar. In some cases, the contrast between one image and another is jarring. Most who read this are in a position to make a difference in the life of at least one child. Draw your own conclusions about what that means.

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"Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see." John W. Whitehead

"Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They came through you but not from you and though they are with you yet they belong not to you." - Khalil Gibran

Children are the future of civilization, or humanity, or whatever you want to call it. Without a future, civilization is without purpose. 

"It is more than existence and reproduction - it is about living - there is a joy to existence and children enrich the experience - we are all social beings and gather and interact well beyond the exigencies of existence - there is a nurturing side to us that relishes sharing our inner selves." - D. R. Guzmán

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Mumbai (The Guardian)

"God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them." - Bono

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"A person's a person, no matter how small." - Dr. Seuss

"How is it that something so simple as a baby's smile can just make my heart want to burst?" - Tamara Ahmed

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More than a million Syrian children are refugees.
Photograph: Nabil Mounzer/EPA via The Guardian

"The Syrian children refugee crisis is an embarrassment to humanity."- Harry Tucker

"One father in Zaatari (Lebanon) refugee camp was so worried about the safety of his daughters he made them stay in their tent for the entire month they lived in the camp. Noor, 13, and her sister passed the time playing with rocks." - The Guardian

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Photo courtesy Tamara Ahmed

What do we see when we look at a sleeping baby? A totally dependent, totally trusting human being, a reflection of the position of every one of us enjoys before God when we acknowledge Him.

"People brought babies to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. When the disciples saw it, they shooed them off. Jesus called them back. “Let these children alone. Don’t get between them and me. These children are the kingdom’s pride and joy. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” (Luke 18:15-17 The Message)

The difference that you make in the life of a child today is the message that you send to the future.