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| Dianne Hudnall, a founding member of Blue Bucket Books, reads to 3-year-olds at LaPetite Academy. |
Best-selling
author Robert Fulghum says all he really needs to know he learned in
kindergarten. That’s where he learned the really important lessons of life,
things like: share everything, play fair, wash your hands before you eat, say
you’re sorry when you hurt somebody, flush, and warm cookies and cold milk are
good for you.[i]
And Karl Barth,
the famous theologian who opposed both liberalism and Adolf Hitler, wrote four
volumes in 12 parts. Each was 500 to 700 pages long.[ii]
But, when a student asked him to summarize what he believed, Barth replied,
“Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”[iii]
Sometimes the
deepest truths are expressed in the simplest of ways.
It’s been said
that the Bible is a love story. It is the story of God’s amazing love for all
of humanity. That message has been summed up in another great song that many of
us learned in Sunday School: “Jesus loves the little children, all the children
of the world.”
We see that
clearly at the end of Matthew’s gospel. The way Matthew tells the story, the
eleven have HEARD about the resurrection of Jesus, but they have not yet SEEN
him. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary had gone to the tomb, but instead of
tending to the dead body of our Lord, they encountered an angel who told them
the most amazing story. “Jesus has risen from the dead! Look and see for
yourself. He’s not there. Now go tell the others. Tell them to go to Galilee.
Jesus will meet them there.”
So the two women
hurried away. They were afraid, but they were also filled with joy! Could it be
true? Was Jesus really alive? If so, what did it mean? They ran to tell the
others, but, all of a sudden, Jesus was right there with them! The women went
to him, and they bowed down to worship him, grabbing at his feet, as if they
were afraid he might leave them again! But Jesus tells them not to be afraid.
“Go!” he says. “Go and tell the others. Tell them to go to Galilee. They will
see me there.”
So the women
swallowed their fear, and they went and told the 11 exactly what Jesus had told
them to say.
And, sure
enough, the 11 go to Galilee, and Jesus is there! As soon as they see him, the
11 begin to worship, even though some of them aren’t quite sure what to believe
about this resurrection story. And who can blame them? It is quite a tale! But
they could not deny the truth that Jesus was right there in front of their very
eyes. And that was all the reason they needed to worship!
I imagine the
temptation would have been great for them to just stay there. With Jesus. Up on
that mountain. Praying and praising God. Up there where it was safe. Just the
11 and Jesus. Just the way it used to be. But Jesus had other plans. “Go!” he
said. “Go and make disciples.” And not just there in Galilee. At home with the
folks they knew and liked and trusted. Jesus sent the 11 out into the world! To
EVERY nation.
“Teach
everyone,” he said. Young and old. Rich and poor. Male and female. Jew and
Gentile. Teach your friends and your enemies. Teach those who are like you and
those who are nothing like you. Teach those who believe what you believe and
those who don’t believe ANYTHING you believe. Teach everyone. ALL nations.
Everyone.
Truly, Jesus
loves ALL the little children of the world! And you know what? Dianne Hudnall
does, too.
Dee taught young
children for about 39 years! Can you imagine 39 years in a classroom full of 20
little wiggly, giggly livewires? I can’t! I’d go nuts! But Dee says, “I found
my niche. I knew that’s where I needed to be.”
She began her
career as a first-grade teacher in Arkansas, but, when her family moved to
Memphis, Dee focused her attention on pre-schoolers. She had a real gift for
working with children from other nations.
Over the course
of her career, Dee taught children from 26 different countries. When she would
find out that a new child was coming, Dee would get material from the child’s
native land so that, when he walked into the classroom, he felt like he was
home. For instance, if a child was coming from China, Dee displayed Chinese
newspapers and chopsticks and books about pandas. One year, Dee was assigned a
child from Korea, so she got someone to come read to the class in Korean. What
Dee created for her students was not a classroom in America. It was their
classroom.
As a result of
her efforts, Dee received the Diversity Teacher of the Year Award from Nick Jr.
The following year, she was chosen from a group of 2000 teachers to receive the
Diversity Champion Award.
But more
important than accolades is the impact that Dee had on each child’s life. Most of
her students did not speak English. Many had not even HEARD English, but, after
one month in Dianne’s classroom, they would jump in her arms and say, “My Dee!”
She loved them, and they loved her. She earned their trust and respect and
their hearts.
Dee taught them
many things. She taught them to be patient and respect each other. She taught
them to FOLLOW rules and to APPRECIATE rules. She even taught them that
learning can be fun!
But, most
importantly, Dee taught them about God. It was a secular school, so Dee could
not teach Bible stories, but she taught them about the Creator when she helped
them see the beauty and power of creation. Together, they raised butterflies
from caterpillars and petted a lynx and admired a boa constrictor and played
with a big box turtle and hopped around like frogs! They hugged trees and
picked up litter because Miss Dee told them that, if we want the earth to be
happy, it’s up to us to take care of it.
Dee taught them
about Jesus when she loved them and took care of them and helped them find ways
to love and care for others. Every child in Dee’s class was paired with a
buddy, and they helped each other. And Dee taught her students about logical
consequences. If you stack big boxes on top of little boxes, they will all fall
down. Likewise, if a student was in a play center and argued with other kids in
that area, he had to leave the center until he could play well with others. Dee
also taught her students to recognize other people’s feelings, which is the
first step in meeting people’s needs.
So Dee taught
her students about God and about Jesus, and, though they may not have known it
at the time, Dee also taught her kids about the Holy Spirit. She was not
allowed to talk about religion, but she always wore a big cross necklace, and,
any time a child asked about it, Dee knew the Holy Spirit had given her an
opportunity to talk about God, and she took it!
Dee’s openness
to the Spirit encouraged others to follow God’s leading. One year, the
classroom mouse died, and one of the students led a funeral for it. Then on
9-11, that same girl went into the playhouse and started praying for everyone
who was hurt. Many of the other children heard the girl praying, and they
climbed into the playhouse and joined in.
Go! Jesus says.
Go and make disciples of ALL nations. Make disciples of them. Teach them about
Jesus. Lead them to commit their lives to Christ. Train them to follow the
teachings of Jesus. Give them the tools they need to grow in faith. Teach them
about all about God. Help them see God at work in the world. Teach them to love
and serve others, especially those with special needs. And, when you see the
Holy Spirit at work, call it to the attention of others so they can learn to
sense God’s presence, too. Go, Jesus says! Go! Don’t be afraid. You can do it.
But we aren’t
all called to be teachers. Some of us are not very good with kids at all! And
that’s okay. There are lots of different ways to make disciples.
Pamela Lappen
makes disciples in Las Vegas by leading dance classes for people with
Parkinson’s disease.[iv]
And the people
of Northwoods UM Church in Jacksonville, North Carolina, are making disciples
by hosting a monthly dinner for men and women whose spouses are deployed in the
armed forces.[v]
And, during hot
summer months, members of City on a Hill UM Church in Woodstock, GA, make
disciples by placing bottles of cold water and a note of thanks for their mail
carriers every Monday.[vi]
We make
disciples whenever we share the love of God with others. And there are as many
ways to share God’s love as there are people in the world who need it.
Go, Jesus says!
Go and make disciples! Don’t be afraid. You can do it. I will be with you.
Always.
“Go,
make of all disciples.” We hear the call, O Lord,
That
comes from thee, our Father, in thy eternal Word.
Inspire
our ways of learning through earnest, fervent prayer,
And
let our daily living reveal thee everywhere.[vii]
[i]
Robert Fulghum. “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten: Uncommon
Thoughts on Common Things.” New York: Ballantine Books, 1986.
[ii]
“Karl Barth: Courageous theologian.” Written by the staff of Christianity
Today. Published at www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/theologians/karl-barth.html.
Copyrighted 2017 by Christianity Today. Accessed June 10, 2017.
[iii]
Trevin Wax. “Top 5 Christian Theologians: Karl Barth.” Published August 22,
2008 at https://blogs/thegospelcoalition.org/trevinwax/2008/08/22/top-5-christian-theologians-karl-barth.
Accessed June 10, 2017.
[iv]
Christine Kumar. “Dancing with Parkinson’s.” Interpreter Magazine.
January-February 2017. Published online at www.interpretermagazine.org/departments/dancing-with-parkinsons.
Accessed June 10, 2017.
[v]
Christine Kumar. “Military families support one another. Interpreter
Magazine. November-December 2016. Published online at www.interpretermagazine.org/departments/military-families-support-one-another.
Accessed June 10, 2017.
[vi]
“Cold water for mail carriers” published on The Interpreter Magazine
website at www.interpretermagazine.org/departments/cold-water-for-mail-carriers.
Copyright 2017 United Methodist Church. Accessed June 10, 2017.
[vii]
Leon M. Adkins and Henry T. Smart. “Go Make of All Disciples.” The United
Methodist Hymnal. Nashville: The United Methodist Church, 1989. 571.
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