Can't wait to share!

I had several hang-ups with Christianity before I had my conversion back to the Church a few years ago. One of the more relevant hang-ups had to do with how sterile and one dimensional the stories from the bible seemed to be. As a child we'd talk about the bible stories and what they meant at Sunday school, but at only a really superficial level. As a teenager and then as a young adult, no one bridged the gap between the bible stories of my childhood and the deeper theological meaning. Yes, I am a victim of poor catechesis for young adults. But that is ok. By the grace of God we found a great parish with a pastor that gave good homily. It is also why I think we need to do a better job of teaching our teenagers and young adults.

After my conversion and as I grew in faith, I joined a bible study. We started out with Little Rock Scripture Study and also use William Barclay quite frequently. William Barclay was a Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism at the University of Glasgow and author of the Daily Bible Study Series. Which I think is the most popular New Testament Bible Study on the planet. Barclay does a great job of providing historical background and is has summarized several different viewpoints and theological views for you. In essence he has done all the hard work associated with trying to understand the scripture. He boils it down so that the lay person can understand it. While, he isn't Catholic (he misses the point in regards to the Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin), the many view points provided are helpful.

Anyways, bible study and reading commentaries on the bible have helped me bridge the gap between the bible stories for children and the deeper theological meaning buried in scripture.

Case in point, and somewhat significant given that Lent is here, is the foot washing of the disciples. Barclay provided a lot of information on this. For example, foot washing was reserved for slaves or servants of the house. At the very least, the owner, if they didn't have slaves or servants, would wash the feet of their guests upon entry into the house. But here we see our Lord, a Rabbi, our God made flesh, doing the work of a slave or servant. How extraordinary, how are God is humbling himself just to show us how we are to treat each other!

I can't wait to share these types of insights with my children when they are old enough to appreciate it. I pray that this type of catechesis, along with the example that my wife and I provide, is enough to keep them from falling away from the faith like I did.

Blessings

Tim