Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
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Original Manuscript:
When I was about in 3rd grade, I got a copy of The Children's Illustrated Bible. It had all kinds of facts and pictures that made the Scriptures more alive.
But then I came to the story of David and Bathsheba and I was incredibly confused. So I did what any questioning child would have done. I went and asked my parents, specifically my mother.
Now this was in the days before VeggiTales. If I had asked this question now, my mom would have simply popped in the DVD for King George and the Ducky which explains the story of David and Bathsheba in a kid-friendly way. That wasn't the case for my poor mother.
Fortunately, we lived near our priest at the time. So my mom, in her infinite wisdom, said "let's go for a walk" and she prayed and prayed that we would see our priest on the way.
And her prayers were answered. We ran into our priest while we were out, and I of course asked him what was going on with this story, which he explained to me. I don't remember exactly what he told me, but it satisfied me at the time.
All of us, from time to time, find ourselves in a situation where we don't understand something in Scripture or in our faith. It's at these times that we need a teacher to come along and help us understand, to help us learn.
In Acts today, we hear the story of a eunuch, a court member, from Ethiopia. He's on his way home in his chariot, and like many of us do today on a bus or a plane, he finds a way to occupy his time. It just so happens he does so with The Book of the Prophet Isaiah.
But this man from Ethiopia runs into a problem. He doesn't understand everything he is reading. He needs a teacher. He needs someone to guide him.
Fortunately God puts Philip on his path. Not only is Philip able to explain to the eunuch what he is reading, but he is able to go beyond Isaiah and explain all of Scripture. He is able to lead the eunuch to deeper faith, so much so that he is baptized at the first convenient spot.
All of us have times that we need a little more understanding as we move forward in our faith. All of us come to passages that require a teacher to help us out.
That can be hard for us to acknowledge, especially since we think of such teaching coming from "Sunday School". Many of us have been out of school for sometime, and it's easy for us to say we've outgrown school.
That's why we have changed what we call our offerings here. We no longer call it "Christian Education", but "Christian Formation". Our segments, or sessions, aren't just a class where we sharpen our pencils and learn, but they are tools to help us to grow and develop in our faith. What we learn isn't just about teaching, it's also about forming us in our faith. Just like the eunuch, we are being called not just to gain facts, but to take action and express our faith more deeply.
It can also be hard for us to take the time. I am no stranger to this. I have had times in my life when I couldn't make it to a Christian Formation session for one reason or another. So I had to find other ways to continue in my formation as a Christian. There are so many resources out there to help you develop your faith. And your priest is one of those resources you can go to help you find something that will work for you.
As those who have joined me in the past for our Christian Formation know, I want to do what I can make your continual formation easier for you. We've experimented with days, times, and offerings to see what might work. That is still true now. Let me know what works, and what doesn't work for you. Let me know what may or may not interest you. And know that if you miss an offering, you can usually find it online on our website, or through my blog: fathertreysthoughts.blogspot.com.
Even when we don't have a priest, that doesn't mean our formation has to stop. Often times the best way to continue to learn about our faith is to do so together. In fact, I hope that there will be someone to take on our Monday Bible Study and our Wednesday Formation after I leave. I hope you will take the time to continue to build each other up in this community through shared learning.
Formation doesn't stop just because we get older. That's the secret to adulthood: we are all still figuring out who we are and what we are doing. Continue to allow yourself to be formed in Christ Jesus, no matter what form that takes for you personally and for our community as a whole. Don't ever let your formation stop here.