“Tutors, teachers and trustees”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Sunday, June 19, 2022 – Pentecost 2
Well, an ‘interesting time was had by all’: what I mean by that, is that it was an ‘interesting’ night—interesting in a not so positive way. First off, at 3:47 by my bedside clock, a car warning system went off in a vehicle parked next door in the Legion parking lot. And it went off, it would seem, ‘for ever’, which only makes sense if the car’s owner was asleep over at the Legion. And, to make matters worse, when I awoke, I had severe stomach cramps. Using ‘the facilities’ didn’t alleviate them but getting up and about did.
Then, just short of 5:00 a.m., two of our resident black little friends decided to set up a ruckus in our back yard, one perched in the elm tree right outside our bedroom window and the other taking its place down by the white garden archway. What was their problem I have no idea. I closed our bedroom windows to try to shut down the noise a bit, but that merely dulled the sound slightly. Finally, around 5:15 or 20, they gave up and flew away. But, by then, the ‘damage’ was done and I was fully awake. I got up, made up our bed—Carol was already up and about—and got dressed. Departing for the dining room and my laptop computer, I started on my journal entries for today, and then moved on to my daily Quiet Time.
Quiet Time – Galatians 3:23-29 (Forward, p. 52) CEV p. 1218 (c. 5:40 – 6:15 a.m.)
Tutors, teachers and trustees: what have they got in common? Well, all three of them are put into place to assist someone, usually someone younger and inexperienced, or perhaps lacking in management skills or aptitudes, in moving along in life and managing their affairs. The need for tutors is seen as necessarily temporary and short term, as befitting only a given interval in a person’s life, whereas a teacher might well be more ongoing. And, as for a trustee, his or her role and responsibilities might be much more lasting—until the age of majority, for instance, in the case of a minor child. But the hope, and intent, with all three, is that the need for them will be somewhat limited, and that the assisted person will somehow grow into an increased ability and knowledge to the point where he or she can look after themselves.
What the apostle Paul is saying in today’s passage is that the Old Testament Law, the Law of Moses, had hitherto acted in that capacity in the lives of believers. It was meant to have a beneficial purpose, but nevertheless, a temporary one. It was meant to establish and build up a certain capability in them, to be exact, to establish and build up their faith, their faith in Jesus Christ. Once that faith was fully established, they would be mature, fully capable children, fully participating members of the family, and would no longer need these tutors, teachers or trustees.
To me, there are many things in our world and in our culture that fulfill the role and function that was once played by the Law of Moses. One such thing, for me at least, came from the Scouting movement, but I happen to think that there are many things. Popular songs, stories or movies can play this role. For instance, I can see many things in the Harry Potter novels that can fulfill this role. And I ‘happen’ to think that there would have been many things in ‘traditional’ cultures, for instance the Karen of Burma or our First Nations peoples of North America, that could have been applied in this way had only our missionaries been open and receptive to such an idea, and willing to listen and learn from their ‘subjects’. And, what I think is essential is that someone take that original ‘Law’, be it Harry Potter or the teachings of the Elders and explain and interpret in terms of the Christian faith and then apply it. I think that this is exactly what the apostle Paul spent so much of his time doing. It is my hope and prayer that many others today might make a similar effort. There is so much ‘out there’ that speaks of Christ if only we had the wit and the will to allow it to do so. Amen.
Forward notes: ”There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (verse 28).
“In a side chapel of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, before the fire, hung a painting officially titled Sainte-Mère et son fils. It depicts the Blessed Virgin Mary. A child stands over each shoulder, gazing in wonder. The painting is a typical depiction in most respects but for the fact that Mary, Jesus, and the children are all Chinese, and at the top, the name of Mary is painted in red Chinese calligraphy.
“A more somber depiction of Mary is Our Lady of Ferguson, an icon that identifies the heartbreak of Black mothers whose sons have been killed by the police with the sorrow of Mary, whose son was also killed by the state.
“These works are reminders that life in Christ obliterates the hierarchical divisions between peoples, and the universal church, which is the body of Christ, contains the multiplicity of human identities. Christian art, including music and worship, appropriately depicts and celebrates all the people Christ has redeemed.
Moving Forward: “What pieces of Christian art remind you of the body of Christ and the kingdom of God? Share them with us at #ForwardDaybyDay.”
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