Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost, Year C (Oct. 20, 2019)
2 Timothy 3:14-15 — But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
In the Deaconess Assembly recently, we began a closing session with an interesting ritual that I had not been part of before. As we stood in a circle, we were invited to call on those who have gone before us whose faith and life have impacted ours. One by one we named authors, historical figures, family members and others who have somehow left an imprint on our lives. As these names and stories filled the space, I was struck by the power of remembering and telling your story. Tell the story of the Sunday School teacher who helped those stories come alive for you. Tell the story of the parent or grandparent whose quiet strength set a strong foundation for you. Tell the story of that author or historical figure whose wisdom and witness stay just a few steps ahead of yours. Tell the story. Invite those names into the room.
Throughout training and learning around faith formation, I regularly heard, “faith is caught more than taught.” One reading of this passage from 2 Timothy can make it sound like “faith in Christ Jesus” is something that comes through learning and instruction. And that’s a part of it, for sure. But that learning and instruction is deepened and strengthened by ‘knowing from whom you learned it.’ There is relationship and ongoing formation in that learning and instruction.
There’s a scene in the Disney movie “Mulan,” where Mushu the dragon meets Mulan for the first time. Mushu is part of ‘the ancestors’ who are sent to protect and guide Mulan as she finds her way through life and claims her role in the world. When Mulan first meets Mushu, she picks him up (after her horse mistakes him for an intruder and tries to trample him) and says, “my ancestors sent me a lizard?” Mushu, understandably, takes offense at this and says, “dragon…dra-gon.” But as they navigate the challenges together, Mulan finds strength, courage, identity and vision as her story and the story of her ancestors intertwine.
Sometimes when we think of those from whom we learned, it might seem like our ancestors are more like lizards than dragons. But whether the characters in our story are dragons, lizards, or something in between, they are part of our story. We are part of theirs. As we continue in what we have learned, as we tell our story and invite these names into the room, and as we dwell with these sacred writings and discover the ways they instruct us, we might just find that we are part of this grand story that catches us in a variety of ways.