Rituals and Young People

I had the fortune (misfortune, some might say) of growing up and going to school in a very small town.  In fact, between Kindergarten and High School, we had two buildings, which had about 20 classrooms total.  In the younger grades, we would change classrooms each year, moving from one to the next as we moved up in grade levels.  But around Jr. High, we started changing rooms depending on the class, not upon our grade level.

In other words, I didn't really go through any kind of transition to mark that I had moved from Elementary to Jr. High.  Same building, I knew all the same teachers, we all ate in the same cafeteria, etc.  I know for some of you, who went to a larger school, there was probably the transition from one school to another.  You may have had an easier transition, knowing that you had moved and grown along the way.

Rituals serve that kind of purpose.  They help us realize that we have moved from one state of being to another.  In some of my reading, I have seen a number of different cultures where the beginning of manhood or womanhood is marked by a particular ceremony or ritual.  In some places, the young 10-13 year old is taken out with the men on some kind of hunt or just time spent away from the family, and when he returns, he has become a man in their eyes.  It seems that, when it comes to our faith life, this could also be a helpful thing.

In my church tradition, we have a few elements like this.  Typically around 6th grade, young people begin serving as acolytes, which has different meanings, depending on the church.  For some, this begins a more intensive period of instruction in the faith, culminating in some kind of confirmation ceremony.

I think these kind of things are helpful.  In fact, I have given much thought on how to give such transitions and rituals even more meaning, especially for younger people.  As a young man or woman grows, I believe it's helpful to have a ceremony to let them know that the expectations on them have changed, and that they have now entered a new "segment" of life.

Rituals and Young Age

"When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child"  1 Corinthians 13:11

Ah, to be a child.  To run around all day and not have to worry about things like bills, lunch, cars, world affairs, and the like.  To see something simple like a butterfly or a bird and be amazed. 

But, alas, those days came to an end.  The problem is, I don't really recall when that actually happened.  Let me take that back.  I actually do remember.  It happened when my mom decided that I should have my picture taken for the first day of school.  I was heading off to kindergarten.  My days would now involve sitting in chairs, listening to teachers, and learning 'reading, writing, and 'rithmatic. 

I don't remember any specific kind of ritual that attended that change in position in life, though.  I know that some cultures are very specific when a child enters into the next stage of life.  That kind of ritual lets the child know that he or she has moved from one set of expectations to another.  The stages of life are, to some degree, set, and the young person can know when they have moved from one to the next.

Should there be stages that we recognize as we grow in our faith life?  What kind of rituals could we employ to let us know when we have moved from one station in life to the next?  Do we have clear expectations of what we should be able to do or know or believe at various stages?  It seems to me that we have muddied the waters, so that we have older people who still think, act, and reason like a child, though they should have long ago moved past those ways.  Would ritual help us both in growing in life as well as in faith?

The Role of Ritual

We all have significant moments in life.  At times, there are some fairly specific actions or ceremonies that go along with those significant moment.  Just last week, I attended a couple of high school graduations.  These kind of ceremonies mark a transition from one stage in life to the next.  It brings closure to one part of life, and opens the door to the next step or stage.

As we think about our Christian life together, what is the role of rituals such as these?  For many churches, there may not be a tremendous number of rituals.  In the church I'm a part of, the most significant one I can think of is called confirmation.  It comes at the end of a period of instruction (usually fairly doctrinal), at which time the young person (in our church, at the completion of 8th grade) into the fellowship as a communicant member (which means he/she can now come forward to receive the Lord's Supper).  While local congregations may have other rituals, there really do not seem to be many that are celebrated or that mark transitions in life.

In a way, I believe that there should be more of these kind of rituals, and that we should also tie a deeper meaning to them.  When I recall my confirmation, I simply remember being able to quote back parts of Martin Luther's Small Catechism, and supposedly I learned what it means to be a Lutheran Christian.  However, I do have to admit that most of what I learned got lost along the way, and I had to re-learn it down the line.  So it seems like the ritual was significant, but perhaps lost its meaning in my life (and who knows how many others?).

Is there a place for deeper, more meaningful rituals?  Are there stages of Christian life that should be remembered and celebrated?  If you have thoughts or suggestions, I'd be happy to hear about them.  Perhaps some of these could be incorporated to make our Christian life more meaningful and significant as we grow together in Jesus.

Community: Worship and Social Time

Looking all the way back to the beginning, we have God making man in a very unique, interesting way.  The LORD God molded the man out of the dust of the earth, but then breathed the breath/spirit/wind of life into him, and man became a living being  (Genesis 2:7).  In other words, the thing that set the man apart from the rest of creation is that man consisted of two natures, the physical and the spiritual. 

So what does that mean for our thinking of community?  It means that we simply cannot separate the need for our community to stress both the physical aspects of simply being together with the spiritual aspects of recognizing our union and fellowship with God in Jesus.  Our tendency is to focus on one or the other, and leave the other side of the coin lacking.

For example, when we think of worship, we tend to focus our thoughts on God.  Rightfully so, since He is the object of our worship.  And yet, when we gather with our brothers and sisters in Jesus, I believe that we benefit greatly from remembering that we have two natures.  Yes, our focus on God is of the utmost importance.  However, one thing that God repeatedly tells us is that our affection and love toward Him is demonstrated in our affection and love toward one another.

When we worship with our fellow Christians, where is our focus?  Do we focus on God, especially on His grace shown to us in Jesus?  Do we make our time of worship more about the physical side of our being, such as the songs we sing and the things we like?  How do we work to tie the two together? 

Random Questions About Faith Communties

Today, rather than compose an entry of well-reasoned thoughts (that would be a first, right?), I just thought I would toss out a few questions for us all to think about when we consider our Christian faith communities.

• How do we go about combining the human elements (friendship) with the spiritual element (faith) in our communities?  Do we tend to emphasize one or the other at specific times, or have specific gatherings for each one?
• How much do the expectations of each individual present in our faith communities impact what we do together?  Do we tend to focus on specific individuals, or upon what is best for the overall community?
• What is the importance of regular connection and communication between the people of the community?  Is just touching base with each other on Sunday enough, or do we need to be conscientious of our needs more frequently?
• What happens when someone is absent from our community for a time?  Do we tend to show care and concern for them, or does it come across as more of a "Where have you been?" kind of attitude?
• While no community of faith will be perfect this side of God's eternal kingdom, how can we strive to have our whole community grow in connection with one another?

I realize that there are no set answers to these questions.  It is quite possible that every faith community will "look" different in how they answer these questions, simply because the people present there, and the ways of demonstrating care and love, will always be different from place to place and person to person.  But perhaps these will give all of us a little bit to think about when it comes to our communities of faith.

Freedom, Independence, and Community

In John 8:31-38, Jesus talks about His truth setting people free.  Of course, the Jews who were listening to Him misunderstood what He was saying, thinking that it meant them as a nation, or some other similar line of thinking.  And yet, the freedom that Jesus was talking about was a much greater freedom.

Let's flash ahead to our current century, time, and place.  When you hear the word free, what do you think of?  As I ask around about this from time to time, the answers that tend to come out are along the lines of "no one tells me what to do", or "I can choose to do what I want to do".  The idea of freedom, at least in our North American context, seems to consist of being able to do whatever you want, whenever you want, and no one can tell you that it's wrong.

If that's our understanding of freedom, just imagine the impact that it will have on our faith community gatherings.  If we gather for worship, and we hear Jesus say something like "Take up your cross and follow me," while at the same time declaring us free, we're probably going to think that it's either one or the other, and of course, we're going to choose freedom.  And that is going to have a great deal of impact on our faith community.

Many Americans seem to think that they are free to gather with whatever group of Christians they want, or not even to have to gather.  But that is definitely not the kind of freedom that Jesus spoke of.  He spoke of freedom from the destructive, oppressive powers that impact people in their lives, souls, and faith lives.  Things like sin, death, or the power of the devil.  These are the kind of freedoms that Jesus has won for us.  And when we recognize our freedom from these, we want to celebrate and be around others who share that same freedom.

But who wants to be around someone who basically thinks and feels that no one can tell them what to do, and they can do whatever they choose.  What happens if they engage in some action that is harmful or destructive to another?  They've already established the boundary that you can't tell them that they can't do it.  This particular idea of freedom is devastating to community.

Sadly, right now I see that idea far too common in people's thinking.  I've even seen it in the life of my worshiping community.  Maybe you've even thought it from time to time.  If so, here's what I ask you to remember.  That's not the kind of freedom that Jesus came to give.  Jesus came to give us freedom to care for one another, to forgive one another, not to assert our own rights and do whatever we want to.

Community: A Great Banquet

In Luke 14:12-24, Jesus is invited to a dinner, and then ends up telling the story about a man who threw a banquet, but the guests refused to come.  While the primary meaning of this was likely directed to the Jewish religious leaders, I find it interesting that the Bible quite often speaks of God's everlasting kingdom as a banquet, or a great feast.  Plus, we also often find Jesus eating with people.

This picture of God's kingdom seems to paint a picture that we will be in everlasting celebration, joining with one another at the great feast, as we inherit God's gift of eternal life.  That means that we will be in community with one another, and with God completely and fully.  There will be no eating by oneself, or any lack of fellowship with others.  Instead, all of God's people will be rejoicing and eating together in His kingdom.

Food and community just seem to go together.  Getting together with someone for lunch, or over coffee, is still a great way to connect with each other.  As we think about ways to build up God's community in our local churches, perhaps we should look for more ways that involve food. 

What would we think of the person who had a huge banquet, but ended up at it all by himself?  We'd feel compassion and sorrow for such a person.  So as we think about how to increase the community which we spend with our fellow faith people, perhaps we should look for more ways to simply include a little food.  Fewer meetings, and more food and fellowship.  Sounds like a good recipe to me!