I want to see the people that are called by God (We call them Christians) approach life humbly and seek unity in all things.
It upsets me that we have so many denominations. Why God? Why are we so stuck in our ways? In the words of WAR, "Why can't we be friends?" or in the words of Taylor Swift "why you gonna be so mean?"
One of the ways our community is trying to join forces is by hosting the 4th annual Community VBS. We have 5 churches involved. Its not about my church, or your church, but sharing the love of Jesus with our community.
Another place God has given me access to is teaching Gym at St Leos School. I will begin my second year teaching in August. I am excited, ready, and scared all at the same time.
This morning I had a talk with our new principal. We discussed many things. Including what I teach, how I structure my class and how I include Jesus in my class.
Oh JESUS, I knew I forgot SOMEONE!
My Class rules for the students last year were based on Biblical principles.
1) Being prepared for Class.
2) Effort
3) Improvement
4) Respect
5) Humility
I will be changing those to some degree this coming year but keeping the same basic idea to my gym class. Just like everything else in life the goal of the Christian is to become more like Jesus.
As we were finishing up our meeting, I was asked a simple yet divine question.
"Do you pray with your students?"
Er..umm...well (I didn't know I was suppose to).
My response to the question of prayer was petty. It undermined everything I worked toward the first year at SLS. I didn't know I could pray with the kids.,,,,.I said, "But I'm not Catholic."
I answered her answer this way for three reasons.
1) I'm not. I was raised Lutheran, went to a Presbyterian College, and am licensed by the Christian and Missionary Alliance.
2) I wanted to be about unity so I didn't want to introduce how I prayed as a hindrance to their Catholic faith.
3) I didn't want to say one the written prayer, "Our Father" or "Hail Mary" because it made me feel uneasy.
The phrase I said, "But Im not Catholic"
This made me think of the Bible. In the First Century, people were grouped into their nice and neat categories. One of those categories was being a Jew or being a Greek. There were huge fights in those days. The greatest issue was if Greek converts to Christianity had to be circumcised to join the community of faith.
But how did St Paul address this issue????
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."- Galatians 3:28
He basically said.... Get over yourself. Its not about you. Its about people coming to know the real, powerful, love of God. Drop the labels. Follow me.
2000 years I think we need an updated Bible (Not literally...don't call me a heretic).
What if we said..... "There is neither Protestant nor Catholic, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
In response to "But I'm not Catholic.."
The principle said, "Im not asking you to pray like a Catholic.... I'm asking if you would pray like you."
I don't know why but when she declared those words I felt freedom. Have you ever felt like you didn't want to hurt someone in the name of unity so you didn't press forward?
Listen, God created you on purpose and for a purpose. He doesn't make mistakes. He created you (and me) with a distinct personality, a distinct gifting, and a distinct way to bring about God's kingdom to earth.
I don't know what this fully looks like as I plan for my 2017-2018 school year but I feel more free. Because in the end does it really matter if I don't pray to the Saints and they do? Does it really matter if they do the sign of the cross and I don't?
No. What matters?
What matters the most is our ability to strip away our differences. To pray without ceasing. To love like there is no tomorrow. And demonstrate and model what a lift looks like walking in obedience to God, our Creator.
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