What I learned in Kindergarten
I live right here, next door to the Church. My apartment is surrounded by wonderful trees and vegetation – it’s a small oasis in the middle of a very busy neighborhood in Zug. The Baarerstrasse, the main street out there is very busy with both pedestrians and cars. But for 6 weeks out of the year, from the beginning of July, this stretch of street and side walk is almost completely deserted. That all changed on the third Monday of August, as kids went back to school.
Dear Brothers and Sisters
Around 7:30 in the morning, the sidewalks are totally crowed. It is wall-to-wall kids, from grade school all the way up to high school. From the train station there is a herd of gymnasium students making their way to school. Sometimes when I am out walking my dog I have to make a huge bypass around them so that Humphrey wouldn’t get trampled on. I love it on the first day of school…..all of the children with their new backpacks and new school clothes heading off to school. The most touching thing however, are the kindergarteners. They are usually accompanied by a parent. But there is something I see more and more of, something that you wouldn’t have seen 50 years ago, when I was growing up: many times the one walking them to school is Dad. A father holding the hand of his five-year-old son or daughter…reassuring him or her as they head off to school. This image reminds me of a book I read about 25 years ago called: “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” It was written by a protestant minister named Robert Fulghum. He collected all of his best sermons and put them into a book which became an instant best seller. He listed about 16 things that are taught in the first year of Kindergarten. For example: “Share everything” “Play fair” “Don’t hit people” “Put things back where you found them” “Don’t take things that aren’t yours” and “Say you’re sorry when you hurt someone”. But the most important, I think, and it pretty much sums up tonight’s Readings, is this one: “When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together. And be aware of wonder.”
Sunday Readings
The recurring message in our Readings is one of community, solidarity, and connectedness. We need each another—and we need to look out for one another. First, watch out for traffic. We need to guard one another from head-on collisions with sin.
Our First Reading from Ezekiel tells us “I have appointed watchmen” and “You shall warn them for me.” The Lord will hold us responsible if we see someone in sin and we don’t say anything to them. Secondly, hold hands and stick together. In our Second Reading, Paul writes to the Romans about love. It was the main theme throughout his ministry and it’s the most fundamental Christian qualities. “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another”. Paul then repeats the command that Jesus called the greatest: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Could you imagine our world if we could just take ahold of one another’s hand and stick together? Just like that mother or father walking their child to school reassuring them that everything will be okay. This is love, my friends. Paul wrote: “Love is the fulfillment of the law.”
And finally, something we all learned in those early days of pre-school and Kindergarten, “be aware of wonder.”
God Is With Us
Be aware of the presence of God, my friends. Jesus told his disciples: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” We need to respect one another, protect one another, and be more like Jesus to one another. We need to love one another.
Saint Paul
The reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans sounds so beautiful and promising. But let’s face it: it isn’t easy. Honestly – I am not the most perfect example of loving my neighbors, even the ones I like. And what about the ones I don’t? What about the neighbors I’ve never met? What about the ones I want nothing to do with? What about the poor guy who comes to the door begging for money to buy something to eat? He says he wants to buy food but we both know he wants to buy more beer. How do I know? I can smell it on his breath. What about the white haired lady searching for exact change to pay for the small amount of groceries at the Migros? When I am in a hurry, I get impatient and she is looking for the small coins in her wallet. These are my neighbors. Do I love them as I love myself? Do I want to look out for them? Do I see Jesus in them? Do you? Do any of us see Jesus in each other?
Living The Gospel
We have a lot of work to do my friends. These pieces of scriptures are a challenge, but with this challenge there is a consolation: We aren’t in this alone. Every day, when we make our way through the school of life we have a parent holding our hand: the God who loves us, our Father and Mother who wants to protect us. It is a parent who also knows that he has to let go and leave us to make our own choices, our own mistakes.
But if we are mindful of what it means to be a Christian, if we strive to follow his commands, let his will work for and in us, what we bind here on earth will be bound for us in heaven.
As we continue preparing ourselves to receive the Eucharist this evening, let us pray for the courage and the gift of spirit to love our neighbor as ourselves— knowing that God’s love for us, and the neighbors around us, is limitless. Let’s go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together. And be aware of wonder. Amen.