Building Character
Building Character
September is the month of Sunday School. This is a good opportunity for me to talk about the purpose of education, and especially religious education.
Webster's dictionary defines education as "the process of educating or teaching". Well, this is not very helpful....Educate is further defined as "to develop the knowledge, skill, or character of..." So education is about building someone's character, but what is character?
If we consult again the dictionary we discover, to no surprise, that "character" is an English word, which has a Greek root: χαρακτήρ. Continuing our search we find out that the Greek meaning of the word refers to an engraved or stamped mark (on coins or seals). To make it simpler, character is the Texan equivalent of a cattle brand.
The χαρακτήρ, the mark, is what makes a coin unique, recognizable and unmistakably belonging to a certain country or organization. Religious education tries to do the same thing, to make the character of their pupils unique, recognizable and molded by the principles of the governing religion.
Educating the children in the spirit of our Christian Orthodox faith will shape them, step by step, class after class, into responsible adults keeping our faith alive and unchanged.
The earlier this process starts, the better the results. There is an old proverb that says "strike the iron while it is hot". This applies not only in blacksmithing but also in education. If you want to mold somebody with ease you should do it starting from childhood. The earlier our children hear the words of the Gospel, the more likely they will apply them in their future adult life. At this age our children absorb information like sponges, they have a thirst for knowledge that goes beyond understanding the basic functionality of the world. They want to know who they are? what they are doing? and where they are going?
The only complete answer to this spiritual quest is in God. He is the beginning, He is the way and He is our final destination. We should give our children access to God, access to His Word that gives meaning to our lives. He is the one Who says: "Let the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God." (Mark 10:14)
If they will receive Jesus Christ into their hearts from a young age they will carry Him there for the rest of their lives. To illustrate this I am going to tell you a story about a holy man, Ignatius of Antioch. He was also called ``the God-bearer'' because he constantly bore the name of the Living God in his heart and on his lips. According to tradition, he was thus named because he was held in the arms of God Incarnate, Jesus Christ. On a day when the Lord was teaching His disciples humility, He took a child and placed him among them, saying: Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:4). This child was Ignatius.
Later Ignatius was a disciple of St. John the Theologian and eventually became Bishop of Antioch. Because of his faith he entered into conflict with the Roman Emperor Trajan who decided to kill him. He was therefore put into chains and brought to the capital. When Saint Ignatius arrived in Rome he was thrown to the lions in the circus. The lions tore him to pieces and devoured him, leaving only several of the larger bones and his heart. The legend says that at this time the emperor, willing to ridicule St. Ignatius' claim that he had Christ in his heart, asked that his heart be cut into pieces. But to the emperor's surprise, when his heart was cut into small pieces, the monogram of the Lord Jesus Christ was found inscribed in golden letters on every single piece.
Cherishing in our hearts the beautiful example of Saint Ignatius the God-bearer, who knew Christ from early childhood; let us work together with our dedicated Sunday School Team to engrave in our children's hearts, minds and souls the unmistakable mark of our Lord: Jesus Christ Conquers!