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Over the years of her time observing and being with children, Maria Montessori came to articulate her core philosophy which she described as following the child. By this, she noted the way that children are led into becoming uniquely who they are in God’s love by the Holy Spirit within them. Adults serve the child best when they are attuned to the soul of the child in this way, less directing the child and more observing what God has to reveal through the Holy Spirit within the child. I reflect on this tenet daily both as a parent to my own children and in the context of children’s ministry at St. Stephen’s. What does it look like to follow the child? And how does this connect with Advent?
Interestingly, tonight we will hold the Live Nativity at St. Stephen’s Church. Dozens of children will wear costumes and stand outdoors in hay scattered in a stable, beside a fire, and among sheep, goats, and a donkey in various scenes. The story that leads us to Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem will be brought to life. It is a joy to behold, and I myself have taken oodles of photographs of these scenes over the years. I confess that I love to look at them.
Here is what I think. It creeps upon us with beauty that lodges in our souls. Not only cute and adorable, but with the deeper beauty of the Gospel which invites us to follow the Christ child. I find myself recalling with delight this narrative that the children inhabit, picturing them in their costumes, beginning with the tiniest. It becomes a way of meditating upon the story of the incarnation. This way of meditating is alive with our own children. Penetrating the surface there is a more lovely mystery: our own children invite us to follow the Holy Child. Somehow these followings are entwined in a way that opens our hearts as only beauty can, irresistibly drawing us to Jesus and inviting us to follow faithfully the children in our own lives.
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