2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
The Lord leads me to consider a question: have you ever felt like you were being left out in your congregation? I certainly have had this experience in my past. When I was a youngster attending our synagogue, my parents and the other adults around me felt children should obey their elders without questioning them. A child’s opinions and feelings weren’t important, because youngsters didn’t have enough of life’s experience to know anything important. Parents are correct in assuming that children’s minds are like sponges eager to take in new information. The problem was that not all of that new information is in their best interests spiritually. Since children are not born equipped with self-confidence and the wisdom that comes from life’s experience, they are very often at the mercy of the adults around them. I must say at this point that one of the most important tasks a parent should do is to teach young children to love the Lord. This is a theme of Judaism (see DT 4: 9-10 & 6: 5), but one that needed to be carried out more effectively. I felt a barrier between myself and my parents when we were in shule. I also felt one between myself and God. That barrier was in part due to the use of the Hebrew language, which wasn’t being taught right along with the Bible stories of our religious education. Since the adults all knew Hebrew, we were supposed to pick it up on our own. In my day, boys had the advantage that they would learn it as a part of their preparation for their Bar Mitzvah. I’m old enough to have been brought up in the time when not many girls were trained for their Bat Mitzvah. That is no longer true in Jewish synagogues today. So, there I was, feeling shut out and not knowing what to do about it.
As time went on and I got older, I began to question some of the beliefs of Judaism. My questions were never taken seriously, but one of them became a “big problem” to be transmitted to my father by my religious school teacher when I was in the eighth grade. The subject of Jesus Christ had been discussed in class, and of course, the teacher was making the point that Christ was a learned man who actually lived and who was a rabbi. I raised my hand and stated something that had arisen from deep within me but about which I had never spent much time thinking. “Haven’t you forgotten that He is the Son of God?” I asked. That was a “show stopper” for my teacher and the rest of the class. That prompted the call from my teacher to my father about a “big problem” with his daughter. I only wish I had known the Scriptures at that time as well as I know them now. I would have led the Jews around me to IS 53, PS 2, Micah 5:2 and all the many other OT Scriptures that so clearly reveal to us the true identity of the Messiah. Because of these practices in raising children when I was young, I would have to wait for many years to appreciate the rich culture that is my Jewish heritage. Since most parents dealt with their children as mine did at the time, I was not alone in feeling left out. That is why so many people fall away from the practice of the faith they were raised in as soon as they reach high school age.
The congregation to which Pete and I are blessed enough to belong is truly the antithesis of the ones in which I grew up. You have never seen so many young people so active and enthusiastic about church as you do there. To me, that is a sign of a healthy, faithfully obedient, and dynamic place of spiritual growth. I raise my initial question so that we can look at God’s perspective on what our attitudes about the weakest or youngest members of our congregations should be. Please bear in mind that this use of the word “weak” can mean members who need their faith strengthened, or it can mean very new Christians who haven’t had the time to mature in the faith. It can also mean people who don’t fit the mold for the most outgoing or the most attractive and popular personality. 1COR 12: 22-24, “On the contrary, we cannot do without the parts of the body that seem to be weaker; and those parts that we think aren’t worth very much are the ones that we treat with greater care; while the parts of the body which don’t look very nice are treated with special modesty, which the more beautiful parts do not need. God Himself has put the body together to such a way as to give greater honor to those parts that need it.” When programs are put into practice to love, have two-way communication with, and educate children so that they feel like they have a part in what is going on, children come away from their congregations with eagerness to return for more. If someone who is not a leader, who is not physically pleasing to the eye, who is ill, who is shy, who is inexperienced in the faith, or someone with any other reason for not being especially noticed is made to feel welcome and loved, imagine what his reaction can be. One such example comes to my mind. I have a friend who is terminally ill with breast cancer. She came to our congregation rejected by her husband who divorced her and left her in financial stress. Our congregation has surrounded her with love, help, and care and continues to do so. This individual is teaching us how to pass away in dignity. Her love of the Lord and faithfulness has touched every heart that has come in contact with her. What a blessing for all of us! This is a blessing that we might have missed had our congregation ignored her or rejected her. Think about it.
1 COR 12: 25-26, “And so there is no division in the body, but all its different parts have the same concern for one another. If one part of the body suffers, all the others parts suffer with it; if one part is praised, all the others are parts share its happiness.” If a congregation follows this guideline God has revealed through Paul, then we get to be part of what I call a “lovefest.” That is how I feel about the congregation that God was compassionate enough to put Peter and I in. It is also my wish for you that you could be in this kind of congregation too.
PRAYER: O Lord, You have chosen each person who is in our congregation. It is Your will that he should be there, and it is Your will that each person should be cherished and nourished by the others. By obeying You, we are greatly blessed by our exposure to the people who would ordinarily be considered weak and go unnoticed. Our own faith is made stronger by the enthusiasm of the children we nurture and educate to love You. We learn compassion and faithfulness from the ill for whom we care. In every way obeying You blesses our lives. Thank You, Dear Lord, for bringing these precious souls to our congregations. Your reasons for doing this are always best. In Christ’s name, amen.
No matter who we are or what our circumstances are, we can take comfort in knowing that we are part of a larger family, the Body of Christ, which is founded by God, lead by the Son, revealed by the Holy Spirit, and grounded in love. When we believe that earnestly in our hearts and let that belief be the foundation of our actions, we can carry that love to others. Our faith really matters and is demonstrated by the level of our obedience to the Lord. Be encouraged in your faith, as I am. We can bask in the love of our Abba every day of our lives. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn