Sackett

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February, 2000 - Vol. XXIX No. 1
Jubilee: Hope in New Beginnings

"Forgiveness in the Real World"
by Leslie Sackett

A new millennium, third world debt forgiveness and the celebration of a Jubilee year are concepts that many adults, let alone children, struggle to imagine and understand. Do any of these ideas seem possible to us? How do we take our ideals, our hopes and our dreams and start to make them real in our own lives? How do we begin to approach overwhelming problems and uncharted territory while keeping sight of that which makes all things possible and all things new?

The gift within Children’s Ministry is the opportunity to articulate both for ourselves and for the children we work with the specific ways in which we breathe life into our faith traditions and beliefs. Children see the world with unclouded eyes, still discovering the beauty and mystery that surround them. They question the ways of the world with truthful hearts that seek a deeper understanding of themselves and the people they love.

J esus saw the world from a new and radical viewpoint. He spoke of the first being last, and of leaders becoming servants. To enter into the world Jesus envisioned we must first let go of our desire to scramble over the rest of humanity to secure our place in line, and learn to trust that in God’s creation there is true abundance with enough for everyone to share.

Recently Sonny Callahan, Chair of the House Appropriation Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, was being interviewed on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition. He stated that third world debt might be erased for some countries on the condition that they not borrow any more money for five years. He said, "They (third world countries) say they’re going to use the interest to provide services for their people - but that is just not the real world."

How different that worldview is from the philosophy Jesus expressed as he ministered to people during his lifetime. Respect, forgiveness, compassion, and generosity are not the privilege of the wealthy and powerful to disperse at their whim amongst those less fortunate than themselves. Those virtues are the necessary building blocks of a just and peaceful society in which every person’s welfare is considered fundamental to the health and well being of the whole community. It is important to remember that everyone’s reality goes into making up the "real world." The world we live in is shaped by the combined experiences of all people, not just those we may know and care about. We make real in the world those things we believe in and those we are willing to stand and fight for.

Making abstract concepts real for young children is always a challenge. I imagined explaining one aspect of a Jubilee year to children by playing a game. The game’s board would resemble a big wagon wheel (created with masking tape on the floor) with an outside circle and several paths to an innermost circle. Each child would start the game by standing on the outside circle, and each would be given a small stack of note cards. Players would take turns reading their cards and moving along the board according to the card’s instructions. Some players might be instructed to take another player’s card for their own use and some cards might instruct players to ask for help from the other players. Cards for free turns could be saved or shared with other players. Turns could be passed on to those who might be caught in an endless pattern of circling the outside of the wheel. The game is over when all the players reach the center. At the conclusion of the game everyone celebrates with a party.

Sharing the vision of Jubilee means tapping into an understanding of the world as a place with room for everyone at God’s table. It means remembering that one of the meanings of forgiveness is freedom from the chains that bound us in the past and the opportunity to make the future new. Our ability to "forgive" other countries their debts has nothing to do with their worthiness to measure up to a standard of behavior we insist they follow. It has everything to do with our faithful response as God’s people in the world and our desire to draw from the deep well of forgiveness without keeping score.

Once, during a kindergarten Sunday School class the children were drawing pictures of a time when they needed to give or ask for forgiveness. As the teacher walked around the room she saw many pictures of children with their mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers. One little girl had covered her entire paper with drawings of fish and she was busily filling in all the blank spots with blue crayon. When the teacher asked her to explain what was in her picture, the little girl said, "Why it’s the ocean of forgiveness."

Leslie Sackett is the Christian Education Coordinator at St. Michael and All Angels Church. Contact her at stmichaa@teleport.com