September 15th, 2021
This past Sunday, September 12th was Grandparents Day. Did you have grandparents that were an important part of your life? I sure did. Actually, my grandparents lived with us until they died. My parents never needed babysitters, because my grandparents were right downstairs. We didn't have to travel for Sunday dinners, because we would just go downstairs. And to be honest, I never really needed to find a best friend, because my best friend, my grandfather, was always right there in my own house.
Grandparents can be an important part of who we grow up to be. I know that many were not blessed with that biological presence in their lives, but I bet that most of them found people, mentors, teachers to fill those roles. As I reflect on the role of grandparents in our lives, I also reflect on the role that grandparents have played in the lives of some of the most important people in the history of our faith.
Abraham and Sarah were grandparents to Esau and Jacob. Isaac and Rebecca were grandparents to Joseph (and 11 others). Boaz and Ruth were David's grandparents. Anne and Joachim were Jesus' grandparents, and the Catholic Church has named them the patron saints of grandparents. We also found out from Paul that Timothy's grandmother's name was Lois. There is a pattern there. All those combinations are not just well known, faithful grandparents, but that 2 generations later, that faithfulness was still going. What are we doing to pass down the faith, and what are we doing to continue the faith that was passed down to us?
In the church today, we've got grandparents. Hi to all of you who are grandparents, and I hope you had a great Grandparents Day! But this week we had 60 kids in Sunday School which tells us we've got some grandchildren here too. So who among us will be the Sarah and Abraham, Isaac and Rebecca, Ruth and Boaz, Anne and Joachim and Lois of today? How will the grandparents of the faith today live by their own example and pass down their wisdom and love like they did? And who among us will be the Esau, Jacob, Joseph, Jesus and Timothy of today, picking up the faith that has been passed down and carrying it into new places and finding new, relevant ways of doing ministry in the present? We belong to a faith that is communal, passed down from person to person and generation to generation. Let's make sure that communal faith keeps getting passed down. Amen!
Blessings,
Reverend Dave
Grandparents can be an important part of who we grow up to be. I know that many were not blessed with that biological presence in their lives, but I bet that most of them found people, mentors, teachers to fill those roles. As I reflect on the role of grandparents in our lives, I also reflect on the role that grandparents have played in the lives of some of the most important people in the history of our faith.
Abraham and Sarah were grandparents to Esau and Jacob. Isaac and Rebecca were grandparents to Joseph (and 11 others). Boaz and Ruth were David's grandparents. Anne and Joachim were Jesus' grandparents, and the Catholic Church has named them the patron saints of grandparents. We also found out from Paul that Timothy's grandmother's name was Lois. There is a pattern there. All those combinations are not just well known, faithful grandparents, but that 2 generations later, that faithfulness was still going. What are we doing to pass down the faith, and what are we doing to continue the faith that was passed down to us?
In the church today, we've got grandparents. Hi to all of you who are grandparents, and I hope you had a great Grandparents Day! But this week we had 60 kids in Sunday School which tells us we've got some grandchildren here too. So who among us will be the Sarah and Abraham, Isaac and Rebecca, Ruth and Boaz, Anne and Joachim and Lois of today? How will the grandparents of the faith today live by their own example and pass down their wisdom and love like they did? And who among us will be the Esau, Jacob, Joseph, Jesus and Timothy of today, picking up the faith that has been passed down and carrying it into new places and finding new, relevant ways of doing ministry in the present? We belong to a faith that is communal, passed down from person to person and generation to generation. Let's make sure that communal faith keeps getting passed down. Amen!
Blessings,
Reverend Dave
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