REFLECTION FROM THE PEW ARCHIVE
2017 ARCHIVE - REFLECTIONS FROM THE PEW
DECEMBER 2017
"WALKING TOWARD BETHLEHEM"
At Thanksgiving I had the good fortune to travel to see a side of my family that I see mainly at weddings and funerals. Age-wise, my cousins and I are now at the top of the family ladder (my cousin’s granddaughter guessed that I am 800 years old). We met at the luxurious mountain home of a well-off cousin for a gourmet meal. It was a happy time and included invitations to make use of the extra bedrooms for longer stays.
After a satisfying visit, we travelled into the countryside to meet our newest family member, a rescue horse named Jose who had an appointment for two new pairs of shoes. Lovely rolling hills were dotted with deep-red barns and white fences. The air was crisp, the leaves were crunchy and a red setter came over for a friendly sniff. The sun cast a golden glow over the whole scene as the horses enjoyed their late-afternoon freedom.
Wandering through the empty stables, we looked up to find a cat, keeping a keen watch over everything from a makeshift perch. I marveled that even this raggedy old feline had a place in society, companions to spend the night with and a place to call home. Although the stalls were clean and filled with fresh hay, the smell of a stable is still the smell of a stable — earthy and elemental. As the sun dropped, the horses instinctively began leaving the field for the safety of their enclosure. One by one, and two by two they arrived at the stable door, some walking calmly, some trying to push their peers aside to make sure they got a room at the inn.
As the day wound down, there was no way I could escape thinking of a how it must have been in the over-crowded city of Bethlehem. The rich snug in their beds; young Mary deep in labor, huddled with Joseph, both far from friends, family and assistance. This had to be the most terrifying, agonizing, amazing night of their life together. Full of worry for the present, full of fear for the future, full of awe at the miracle, full of wonder, love and joy for the child. The star above pointed to the miracle below, and hope for the world was born anew.
~ Barbara H.
“And the angel said to them,
Fear not: for, behold,
I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people.”
*****
- A MOTHER'S REFLECTION on her 7th grader's question: "How is church relevant to my life?"
Just last week I was posed with a question from my son about why he had to go to Sunday School that morning but his brother didn’t. Being that I was teaching that week, I was a little offended, but beyond that, it kind of stopped me in my tracks. Sunday School is so important to me ... have I not done a good job passing that on to my children?
So I asked, “Why, don’t you like going?” And the response was, “I do, but I just don’t know what it adds to my everyday life.” Ah-ha! There it is ... the conditioned 7th-grade response to anything with the word “school” in the title. This is the same response that I get when math homework gets a little bit tricky. At this age, they feel it is a good argument to get out of doing what mom wants.
In the end, it actually sparked a very nice conversation between us about our daily lives and living them the way Jesus wants us to and how we learn about that. Sunday School being a good start! We talked about the Bible stories we explore in Sunday School but also about church service. It led me to talk about what I believe, why I feel it is important to go to church, and about some of the things that are read during church service. That this is, in part, how we show God that we care and should be thinking about what we are reading and how we measure up to our promises. I talked about the importance of our church community, to surround ourselves with people like that and be a part of the good work that we do for others.
That day, after Sunday School class, we headed up to church service and I noticed that my son was speaking up a little louder during the Prayers of the People, Psalms and Nicene Creed. Wow! I was beaming that our conversation had an impact on him.
I share this story in hopes that anyone reading it will see how Sunday School is a foundation but we are all teachers as parents and church members! As a parent, I feel that Sunday School is a way to give our kids the opportunity to learn about God, Jesus and even our church family. I know that there are many conflicts on the calendar that compete with time for Sunday School, but that is ok. Please come join us when you can ... and when you can’t, have your own conversations with your kids about what you believe and keep the learning going!
~ Christine K.
