The Gospel for this past Sunday, the third Sunday of Easter Year A, is always the disciples' experience on the road to Emmaus. I grew up hearing this story and it never ceases to thrill me. I look forward to hearing it read and preached upon every three years.
The story the two disciples tell of their experience at Emmaus is a familiar and rich one. There is much food for thought and prayer within this text, yet I always find that it is verse 32 that leaps out at me, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the Scriptures to us?"
I suspect this verse catches my attention because, at heart, I am both a teacher and a student. I recognize the thrill and the certainty the disciples feel when they have been in the presence of Truth that opens their hearts and eyes to seeing in a new way. Educators of all kinds refer to this moment in the story as a "teachable moment" - a moment that helps us see and know in a new way. This is the function of Christian education within the Church. Gathered together as the community of faith in both sacrament and teaching, we experience over and over again, the "teachable moments" that faith offers us. We meet Jesus the Teacher again and again - and our lives are changed because of it.
Christian Education - "Church School" as it is more commonly known - is not the glamour place in the Church. It tends to be messy (glitter paint and glue) and noisy (children were not designed by God to be quiet!). Viewed in passing, it can often appear somewhat chaotic. And it is easy to think that it is only one more activity in which our children participate. But something else goes on in Church School that happens no where else in the lives of our children. It is in this place, in this time, in these activities, that our children encounter Jesus the Teacher, just as the disciples on the road to Emmaus. At Church School, our children hear, play, share, sing and explore the teachings of Jesus in community with others of all ages doing the same. As they mature and progress through the different stages of faith formation here at SUMC, children encounter the stories of Scripture over and over. Each moment is rich with the possibility of new understanding, change and growth. These stories of God saving action in Jesus form a foundation of faith that lasts a lifetime and continues to grow and develop as our children mature throughout their lives.
In the larger scheme of life, it is easy to forget the place of Church School in our children's lives. But where else in their busy activities will they hear the stories that transform their hearts, provide a secure foundation of love and trust, and form them into the people God calls them to be? That is the role of the Church School in partnership with you, their parents. We are delighted to have you and your children on the journey of faith with us.
Grace and peace,
Dr. Elizabeth
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