THE DIOCESAN SUNDAY SCHOOL ANNIVERSARY – JULY 09, 2016.
MESSAGE
THE DIOCESAN SUNDAY SCHOOL ANNIVERSARY – JULY 09, 2016.
Mt 19:13- 15; Mk 10:13-16; Lk18:15-17.
“Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them; for such is the Kingdom of Heaven“.
Sunday school is a significant ministry carried out jointly by the church and the parents. We give significance to children as a Church and therefore ‘ Infant Baptism ‘ is practised. This sacrament of baptism recognises the significance of the church and the parents in Christian nurturing. The child is brought to the church by the parents for baptism. Bring every child to Jesus is the key exhortation given by our Sunday Schools. The child that is baptised goes through the spiritual experience of identifying with the death and resurrection of Jesus. The baptised child, considered as redeemed /saved is handed over to the ‘god-parent’ who represents the church, at the time of baptism. In other words, the church holds the responsibility of each child in the faith community and is keen in giving proper Christian nurture through the classes in the Sunday School. The words of Faith are pronounced again by the ‘ First Communicants ‘ when they are 12 years old or more, before God and the members of the Faith Community , called the Church. This is to be remembered and lived through out years of one’s life. Thus, the foundation for Christian living is laid at home and in our Sunday Schools.
Sunday school Children:
Our aim is to bring every child to Jesus. How many of our children are coming to the Sunday School classes regularly? Remedial measures are to be taken by every parish , each year, to see that all children of our church come and attend the Sunday School classes. Announcements are to be given and parents & children are to be motivated every year. When we identify the cause for the absence of a child, remedial measures are to be taken to see that the child is nurtured through the classes. Childhood is a precious stage of one’s life and the time will not wait for any. If a child misses the Sunday School, that child is missing the opportunity forever to grow spiritually through the Christian nurturing that is imparted through this ministry.
Bring another child to Jesus is the mission of Sunday School participants. Extending the classes to the mission fields and conducting the classes in the local language will help to minister to so many in our neighbourhood and in our mission fields. If we aim at catching them young , that will certainly help the generations and all sorts of people to inherit eternal life Jn 3: 16. The Diocese of Bombay is blessed to have ministries in several mission fields in the States of Maharashtra and Gujarat. This includes children from the Tribal belts and low economic strata of society. We have Educational Care Programs ( E C P ) and hostels for boys and girls at several places . We have Navodaya programs among the mentally challenged children, rag pickers’ children and the like. These are avenues for our ‘out- reach’ programs, helping out to reach to so many children who have never heard about Jesus or experienced a life of Salvation in Christ. Shall we take this ministry seriously.
I want to place this as a suggestion to each Parish Sunday School to reach out in organising a Sunday school to the less privileged, in your neighbourhood or in the mission fields. Let us remember that Sunday School started with a humble beginning to bring children from the streets of the Industrial belt, who otherwise caused nuisance to the civic community. This was initiated by Robert Rakes
School on Sundays:
It is significant that we call these classes as Sunday classes indicating that the classes are sacred, needing time and wanting our focused attention. In the earlier days, children were free from the evening of Saturday to devote their time for Bible reading and preparing themselves for the scripture classes on Sunday. Nowadays people spend this time for socialising and entertainment. Hence adequate time is not given for the study of the Holy Bible and for reflections. Values of the Kingdom Of God are to be caught than taught.
How do we spend our time? How did Jesus spend His time? He was with God and at the same time moved through the streets to share the pain and suffering of the people, always caring and loving them. I do appreciate the encouragement our diocesan Sunday School is giving for our children to get exposed to the naked realities of human life. Let our children have programs through our Sunday Schools to see the caring and serving ministry that is carried out by the church and/ or social agencies. ’Save a Little Heart ‘ is a meaningful program where each child is taught to set apart at least ‘ one rupee’ a day to put life into the child who would otherwise die.
Let our children learn to earn / save and give to a cause where more life is put in to the life of a deserving person.
Parental Ministry:
Children learn their basic lessons from home. Parents are the first teachers and home is the first Sunday School. Values of the Kingdom of God are caught from the home atmosphere and the relationship they enjoy in the homes. Walking the talk and talking the walk are all done in Christian homes. A good number of the people of this world live for wealth and for them wealth is God. This is idolatry. Mt 6:24 Wealth is so attractive that it fuels the person who pursues it to grab more and more (greed) and it opiates his or her morality. It leads people to many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. St Paul charges Timothy to flee from all such things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love , perseverance and gentleness. 1Timothy 6:11-16.
Some of the teachers in the Sunday School are also parents. I urge you to spend time with your children to study the Bible, explain biblical teachings to them and pray with them. Let the children go to the classes after proper preparation and prayer. In the contemporary world of ours, where money, market and media dictate terms for life, let us know the difference of being God’s children and shun away from rationalising our aberrations.
Sunday School Teachers:
Teaching is an art and needs constant reflection. A good teacher will also be a good student. Teaching becomes effective, depending on the hours you have spent for your learning and preparations. We have enough tools available; but the question is whether we are making use of them in our teaching in the Sunday Schools.
A good teacher will be interested in seeing that the children are engaged in extra-curricular activities such as getting exposed to the realities of this world, the pain and the suffering humans go through. Jesus was a ‘ man for others ‘. He went out in search of people who were marginalised. When we follow His footsteps, let us remember that we are told to renounce ourselves, take up the cross and follow Him. Christianity is a way of life. Cross is not an idol to be worshipped but a lifestyle to be followed. The Cross of Jesus Christ teaches us , how to live and how to die.
The Life in the Kingdom of God will teach us to transcend all blood relationships and to see the whole inhabited world as One Family.
Do we realize that Sunday School is not a substitute for Sunday Worship? All the teachers and children should be attending our Sunday Worship services. Assigning children different roles in the worship will be encouraging them to participate.
It is essential that our children learn the Kauma, Lord’s Prayer and say clearly the Nicene Creed. The Holy Bible is to be known thoroughly, as all our faith and faith practices are based on the Scripture. Our Sabha Constitution says : ” The Holy Bible consisting of the 66 books comprised in the Old and New testaments , accepted by the Mar Thoma Syrian Church as the basis of all matters of doctrine and faith , and the Nicene Creed , formulated in accordance with the Holy Scriptures , shall not be altered in any manner by any one and likewise , the Ministry of Deacon, Priest and Episcopa , the rites of the Church viz, Church Dedication, Church Consecration , Holy Baptism , Holy communion, Holy Matrimony , unction of the Sick, Funeral service and observance of Sunday , Lents and Dominican Feasts , shall not be abolished , at any time.” Should we not teach our children these things so that they will be loyal to the Church and committed Christians in the world.
Conclusion:
A child studying in our Sunday School should come out as a student who continues his or her study of the Holy Bible by personal interest, as a person well-grounded in biblical principles and having strong theological reflections. ‘The fear of The Lord is the beginning of wisdom.’
Mar Theodosius+
