Justice in the Kitchen

If I were to write a book, this is what I would call it: Justice in the Kitchen, Imparting a theology of justice to our kids in bite sized chunks.

Yesterday I was making Aidan Turkish tea. He loves this stuff and claims his Turkish babysitter gave him tea instead of bottles. In fact, when Ella teased him for liking it, he was genuinely insulted. Thus began our brief foray into depth at the kitchen table...

Aidan: Sugar cubes would have been better.
Beth: (smiling) Yes, I know.
A: You know that church in Turkey with the spiral staircase going down to the basement? I used to steal sugar cubes there and eat them.
B: I know.
A: That wasn't really a church though, was it?
B: What do you mean? What makes a church?
A: Well, I mean, a place that is open all the time with people working there during the week and stuff.
B: So was Seed (our current church) a church when we met at the Country Village (a rented room)?
A: (pause) No, yes, I mean... (exasperated and stuck)
B: If that was still a church, but without a building, what makes a church?
Ella: A group of people? Who love?
B: Do you know, in some countries churches are just a few families meeting in a living room in secret.
E: Why in secret?
B: Because in some places they aren't allowed to follow Jesus. They aren't allowed to become Christians.
E: (look of horror and tone of pain) Why not?
B: In countries that don't know Jesus some leaders don't want their to people to change. So churches are small and meet in secret.
A: Can I have more tea?

That was it. Just a few minutes of intense curiosity and space for a transformative moment. It's gone as quickly as it starts and I realize how I need to be on my toes, constantly seizing these teachable minutes. Hopefully, they are now a tiny bit more aware of their freedoms, a tiny bit more knowledgeable about ecclesiology, and a tiny bit more educated in issues of injustice as it relates to our faith.