Youth Sunday
March 7, 2010
Elisabeth Peel
Precedents, examples, and warnings are constantly present in our lives. Especially for those of us in middle and high school. In health class, we are bombarded with pictures of tar filled lungs meant to warn us of the dangers of smoking. We are always reminded of what would happen if we were caught skipping class. We are shown movie after movie depicting some teen who cheated on a test and how she had to face the consequences. These warnings, stories, and lessons learned from the mistakes of others, serve as a guide and inform our decision making. Even catchy sayings help us remember the right choices to make: Just say No, quitters never win, slow and steady wins the race.
In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul is trying to give them a wake up call. Paul tells the Corinthians, who have made their share of mistakes, that their struggles are not new. He recounts the stories of the Old Testament for the people of Corinth to hear as a warning. Paul doesn’t want these people to follow the path of those who were struck down before them, but to learn from their example.
Paul is pleading with the Corinthians to pay attention to the warnings and stories of the Old Testament while they are also embarking on their own faith journey. The people are susceptible to going through the motions…to letting the lessons of the Old Testament come in one ear and out the other without gleaning insight from the knowledge.
Like the Corinthians, we have stories of the Old and New Testament, parable after parable, to guide us as we live out our faith. We have a community of faith in which we worship and study. We know that tale of Noah’s Ark; it’s the one with the rainbow at the end of the story. We know that Jesus loves us, or, at least, we know the song. We go to Sunday School, we come to worship, we take communion, we go to Youth group.
But, knowing the gist of the stories and participating in these activities do not free us from other responsibilities. Going through the motions doesn’t prove faithfulness.
Tom Wright, the author of the book Paul for Everyone, really hit the nail on the head when he said “Christian sacraments are not magic.” Because we partake in Communion or were baptized does not free us from the responsibilities of our faith. The bread and juice aren’t just a snack before lunch on Franklin St and Moses and Noah aren’t fairy tale heroes. Our faith story runs deeper than that. We must use what we have learned from those that came before us as well as glean meaning from our own spiritual practices to form the larger picture of our life story.
Just say no; Quitters never win, slow and steady wins the race. Easy to remember slogans that are hard to put into practice. Paul reminds us that our knowledge of our past examples should be coupled with meaning in our day to day spiritual life…
easier said than done.
Share this page:
