Our lenten “I Am…” series has helped us explore our identity in Christ. Each week members of Saint Luke have been sharing reflections here on our blog. Today’s reflection includes thoughtful insights from Ian Roth. They are sure to make you think and to help us have an interesting discussion together on Wednesday evening via Zoom.
I Am Welcomed
In my job as a middle school Social Studies teacher, I am lucky to get to teach seventh grade students about Ancient Civilizations. The year of study with my students is filled with a lot of fun and engaging topics, interesting historical figures, and impactful cultural legacies. For my seventh-grade students, this is the first time in their K-12 experience that they have a class during their day that is devoted to the study of history. I get the amazing opportunity of helping to foster historical curiosity and analyzation skills that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. Throughout the year, I stress the importance that history is not necessarily about the “what”, but more importantly about the “why”. While we do engage with the “what” (facts, dates, people, etc.), I challenge my students to seek and understand “why” what we are studying from ancient cultures is important, and how it might apply to our current lives today.
One of my favorite units in our year of study, and one that I think my students really enjoy as well, is our unit on Religion. Over the course of about six weeks, we learn together about the five major world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. We study each religion from a historical lens, and strive to gain a basic understanding of each religion’s origins, beliefs, and practices. While the religions each have their differences, the really cool thing to see students realize is how many similarities these religions have. Buddhism, for instance, stemmed off of Hinduism; Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are considered the three Abrahamic religions. It is always fun to see the reaction of students, many of whom identify as Christian, when they realize “wait…Jesus was Jewish? Not Christian?” At the end of the six weeks, students have a much broader understanding of the major religions of the world. They also get to hear a recap of what they’ve learned from my alter-ego, DJ Rothington, in a parody song called “Five Major World Religions” (to the tune of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel”).
At the beginning of our unit, I revisit the question of “why” with my students, and ask them to tell me “why” they think we study Religion together in 7th Grade Social Studies class. They often share ideas with me that reflect the following goals:
Gaining a better understanding of the beliefs in our world.
Understanding how interconnected our world really is.
I really got to see these two goals come to fruition during a moment this year when we were learning about Islam. During class, I take my students on a virtual field trip to mosques around the world. The goal of this lesson is to get a basic understanding of the ideas and beliefs practiced in a mosque, make comparisons to other religious buildings (temples, synoguauges, churches, etc.), and explore the importance of mosques to individuals who are Muslim. I also take some time to show them local mosques in our area on Google Maps. For many students in my class, this is their first experience learning about and seeing the inside of a mosque.
For one student, however, this experience was a moment of welcoming.
I have a student in my class who came to our school about halfway through the year. Being a new student in middle school, especially during a year in which you alternate between being “in-school” one day and “on Zoom” the next, is challenging. During the virtual field trip lesson, one of my students asked a question, about the clothing attire at mosques, that I didn’t know the answer to. When I get questions that I don’t know the answer to, I normally tell my students “I will have to look into that and get back to you.”
What proceeded to develop after this was truly amazing.
The newer student, who is generally quiet and reserved during class, messaged me in the Zoom chat saying they were Muslim and provided an answer to their classmate’s question. I messaged back thanking the student for providing their knowledge, and encouraged them to share more throughout the lesson if they were comfortable. Throughout the rest of the lesson, the student began to unmute and chime in frequently, providing insights from their personal worship experiences at a mosque. The other students in the class were very intrigued, and began to ask their newer classmate questions so that they could have a deeper understanding of Islam. It was truly remarkable and heart-warming to see.
Jeremiah 31 speaks of a similar type of welcoming that God’s New Covenant will bring to the world. “I will put the law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people...And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me”
In reflecting and researching on this passage, I found Jeremiah 31 connected very well to what transpired in my classroom that day. On this day, the student became the teacher, and I could tell this experience had a positive impact on their feeling of welcoming into our school community. This Old Testament passage implies there will be no privileged class to teach. There will be no distinction, even the distinction of religion, I would argue, that restricts people from having a relationship with God. As Christians, we believe that Jesus came to validate the prophecy that God’s love has no boundaries.
Studying Religion with my students, who are each uniquely different in terms of their own faith, is always a valuable experience for me as a human. What transpired this year during that lesson on mosques was a great reminder that God’s world is more connected than we think, and when we strive to understand His world more we can create a spirit of welcoming for ALL people.
May we welcome one another with the same radical welcome that Christ extends to us. Amen
PONDER & SHARE
How do you see God’s welcoming play out in your everyday moments?