Here is an article I wrote for the centenial celebrate of the church of my childhood. I will try to find a picture of the building or the people of Bethel and post it here soon....
The rich heritage of Bethel continues to bear fruit in my life and ministry. There are so many ways that this is true that it is hard to choose merely one to write about.
I was baptized as an infant and entered confirmation class when I was in the 5th grade. Bethel was at that time in the planning and building phase of the current facility. I have vivid memories of that old building. I even remember having worship services in that old chapel. Rev. Brooks Ambose was the pastor at the time and taught confirmation class. I remember that the class met every week throughout Lent. Rev. Ambose insisted that our class learn and understand the meaning behind the seasons of the Christian year. He emphasized observing Lent with serious spiritual disciplines: fasting, confessing, and praying. It may seem a little ridiculous to emphasize these things with 5th graders who are going through the most narcissistic phase of life. At the time, I remember having a myriad of feelings about it. On one hand, I’m certain that I rolled my eyes and said something like: “why do we have to learn this?” Yet, on the other hand, the different symbols and colors and even the Latin words that were hard to pronounce and a bit silly fascinated me. In order to be confirmed in the church, as a final rite of passage into church membership, our whole class observed a 12 hour fast. The evening after Good Friday service our class had a lock in and it was clear that it would not be a “party” but an evening of scripture reading and silence. It was a modified fast and we were allowed to eat a few simple things, a couple crackers and a few grapes. We drank water. It was a powerful time for me. In those hours, I really did contemplate Jesus death on the cross and the great love that it displays.
There are two ways that this experience shaped who I am. First, it planted in me a hunger for God. The rich symbols and traditions of the church invite us into a larger reality than we can contain in our individual lives. They remind us that we are invited into God’s kingdom and that that kingdom transcends our small worlds. Celebrating the differing seasons of the Christian year reminds us that God is in charge. The rhythms of these different seasons reflect God’s greater work. They give us markers along the way in our effort to follow Jesus.
I am so grateful for that seed that was planted. Yet, I am even more grateful that in and through this confirmation class, I learned that tradition is important but it is not really the main thing. All of these “traditions” are not the main thing; they simply point us to the main thing. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
1 comment:
Your last paragraph rings well with the exegetical class that I am finishing (as my last NTS class). The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians (especially 1 Corinthians 1) exhorting them to stop boasting against each other over whose 'teacher' (ie, Paul, Apollos, Jesus, etc) was the best to imitate. He urged them to remember that we are all called to identify with the cross of Christ--and only Christ.
A Nazarene in upbringing, I have moved through the Christian liturgical calendar with Free Methodists and Roman Catholics among others within Nazarene Theological Seminary. I have found that the divisions we have and the splits we endure are no match for the manner in which the cross of Christ unifies us all.
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