Instrumental Art
I visited a family on the occasion of the 75th birthday of a church member. On entering the house, I noticed a big piano and asked the woman during the discussion whether she played instruments. She started telling me how she and all her five brothers learned and played different kinds of instrument including wind and stringed instruments. The reason is that their father had interest in music and that their grandparents played instruments at the theatres. She joyfully narrated how she and all her brothers have succeeded in handing over this art and interest for music to their children and even grandchildren.
Pass the Faith
Every generation wants to pass along its memories, stories, and values, including spiritual values of the faith to the next generation. When it comes to passing on faith, it is both the function of the faith community and the parents. Most of the time the parents are those who have direct contact to the young ones. Hence, they bring them to the church and pray with them at home. It is actually in the family, as a domestic church, that the priestly, prophetic and kingly role of parents and grandparents come to the fore. The question is how?
Should we assume that parents’ faithfulness will continue and that children will be aware of the great legacy available to them or must the passing on of the faith be a proactive intentionality of parents, as evident in the story above. We hear it today in the first reading. St. John talks about what they have seen and heard (according to today’s gospel, it is the resurrection), and how they have succeeded in handing that on so that we may have communion with them and with God. Deuteronomy 6: 4-9 specifically commands us to pass on the faith to our children by talking about them at home, when we travel, in the morning, and at night.
Be Intentional
When parents and grandparents are intentional about passing on the faith, they make use of every opportunity. They use the current situations of their family to point out God’s character and commands. They make use of TV, movies, news reports, and so on.
It is true that most of the time, after putting on much effort, the children may or may not hold unto the faith at the threshold of adolescence, given other influences around them. But the fact remains that the seed of the faith has been sown. Most of these children usually fall back to the faith as adults. Many young adults, I know, make reference always to the faith of their grandparents.
Thinking about the Apostle and ‘Evangelist’ John (who died in Ephesus around AD 98) whose feast we celebrate today, one of the things that comes into my mind, is how he had to leave his family and comfort zone to dedicate himself entirely to the spreading of the Gospel. Some apostles today (parents and grandparents) have their homes as their major places of assignment. Just as St. John joyfully narrated his success in passing on the faith, I also think that it is a thing of great joy for every parent to be able to transmit the faith to their children. And even in difficult cases, it is enough too, to pray for these children and grandchildren. In this way, we shall be spreading the true joy of Christmas, which is the same with the joy of the resurrection.
