Fr. Basil Zebrun
(The general thoughts herein come from a homily at the start of the school year by Metropolitan Anthony Bloom. Additional teachings are from St. John Chrysostom and Fr. Alexander Schmemann. These were recently shared with the congregation at St. Barbara’s during a sermon.)
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Children are now back in school, and St. Barbara’s in fact, began its Church School Program yesterday. Later this morning, we will have prayers for the start of the New School Year. We will pray for the grace of the Spirit to come upon our students and teachers, enlightening their minds, opening their hearts to profound insights.
It has been said, that Christian parents and teachers often limit their approach to a child’s general education – to their own adult education – thinking mainly in pragmatic, material terms: what can our children, what can we grown-ups learn that will be useful in life? Useful, not only to earn a living, but to make us well-rounded individuals, conversant on a variety of topics, able to move in social circles that will be of benefit later on.
On a sensory level, Man indeed explores the arts, sciences and world around him to get ahead. More importantly, he does so out of great curiosity, his need to know; out of a love for beauty; and because he wishes to shape his environment, leaving something for future generations to build upon.
Noble reasons for exploration and study. But regardless, Man’s focus often remains on the world, its form and beauty as ends in themselves. As believers however, we are taught that there is much more to education and to the acquisition of knowledge.
There is a mysterious depth to things around us, “another world” that we wish to open to our children, that will provide ultimate meaning for their studies. This “other world” cannot be grasped simply through the standard rigors of education. It is perceived by the humble of heart, by men and women of prayer, by those who relate to the world as pointing beyond itself, as something other than useful or pleasurable.
All academic disciplines – math, science, history, literature, world affairs, politics, and so on – have an ability to lead our youth, lead anyone with an open heart, to knowledge of the Creator. How many men and women of science – at first skeptics, agnostics, perhaps atheists – have been drawn to faith in God by the complexity of the universe, by things that seemingly cannot be explained?
In their innocence, children are especially open to this experience, and thus, everything in our power should be done to encourage their natural wonder, to get them to see their environment not simply in pragmatic, black and white terms, but to view the world as in fact, a great work of art, with many layers, going beyond the senses.
We can study for example, sculptures, buildings, portraits, even icons and classic literatures, gaining insights into the minds of the artists and authors. In a similar fashion, the earth, sun, moon and stars, bear witness to the One Who is above it all, yet is “everywhere present, filling all things.” Traditional Christianity holds together these two ideas in a perfect balance: the belief in God’s Transcendence, that He is entirely “other,” along with the experience that He is infinitely close to His creation. Each day that experience is at a person’s grasp, accessible to anyone with an open mind, a willing heart.
The Apostle Paul declares in Romans, chapter 1 that, “What can be known about God is plain to (men), because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world (God’s) invisible nature – his eternal power and deity – has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made.” (v. 19-20)
St. John Chrysostom highlighted this idea of creation as a beautiful reflection of God’s gracious activity: “let us not test the works of God with (the) human mind, but instead, looking at what has been created, let us marvel at the Artist.” (Homily on Genesis:1)
Fr. Alexander Schmemann, time and again, spoke of the world as the original sacrament. Adam and Eve, through their stewardship of the Garden, were to know their Maker, find delight in His Presence.
This “other dimension,” the world’s sacramental nature, provides direction, gives ultimate meaning to all academic pursuits. We seek to instill in our children, sensitivity to this other side of life. That effort in fact, constitutes the fundamental focus of Church School, of Orthodox religious education. The main purpose of religious education from an Orthodox point of view, is not simply to impart historical/theological information, but to lead the student, old or young, through his studies, more deeply into Christian worship, to bring to his awareness, the Kingdom of Heaven revealed on earth, given fully through the life of the Church.
This mystery of the Divine Revelation in Christ, is experienced most powerfully within the Liturgy. Into this gathering are brought many elements of creation: bread, wine, oil, water, incense, candles, wood and paint, through which the grace of the Spirit is felt. Interestingly enough, young kids, even without formal training, often perceive the wonder of liturgical worship more readily than grown-ups. Such a thought was expressed to a group of Christian educators almost fifty years ago by Fr. Schmemann:
“Children penetrate more easily than adults into the world of ritual, into liturgical symbolism. They feel and appreciate the atmosphere of worship. The experience of the ’Holy’ which is at the root of all religion – the feeling of an encounter with Someone, Who is beyond daily life – is more accessible to children that it is to us. ‘Unless you turn and become like children,’ (Christ said): these words apply to the receptivity, the open-mindedness, the naturalness which we lose when we grow out of childhood. How many men have devoted their lives to the service of God and consecrated themselves to the Church because, from their very childhood, they have treasured their love of the house of God and the joy of liturgical experience.”
(Liturgy and Life, p. 16, Department of Christian Education, Orthodox Church in America.)
For any person with an open heart – not just children – all things are transparent to the Creator. There is joy and thanksgiving for all that exists, even outside the Liturgy. We read in Psalm 19, “The Heavens are telling the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims His handiwork.” (v. 1)
I would like to conclude by quoting, Bishop Anthony Bloom: such a remarkable person. His approach to education is broad, based upon his own experiences as a man of science, a surgeon in WWII. He came to a deep faith in Christ, only after a period of personal struggle. His style allows for each person, place, or object of study, to become a lesson in faith, a window into the Kingdom. It is consistent with that of many Saints, who also enjoyed the benefits of a diverse and higher education.
He says, “One must show a child that this (entire) world is, for us believers, created by God and that it is an open book before us. Instead of setting faith (and) the teachings of the Church, against the world which surrounds us – (the world of) literature, art and science – we should show children that through these (very) disciplines the mystery of God opens up ever more deeply and widely. God created this world, (and) for Him, everything which is the object of our scientific research is part of theology…The whole of creation is a kind of introduction to God’s creativity.” (editor’s emphasis) (Sermon on the start of the school year.)
Think for a moment about that last statement: “The whole of creation is a kind of introduction to God’s creativity.” We can ask ourselves: is this the lesson, is this the certainty we impart unto children, unto anyone in our sphere of influence, the conviction of the world’s transparency to its Maker?
Let us pray that would be the case, although I fear too often we posit the world against religion, against Christianity, instead of stressing (as we heard this morning) that, “God so loved that world that He gave His only-begotten Son…,” that He came not to condemn but to save. Let us pray that our children in their studies, will discover the material world, as well as the people around them, to be beautiful revelations of the presence and wisdom of God, icons, windows into Heaven. Christ is in our midst!