”Which of you….does not….go after the one that is lost until he finds it?” Jesus, in today’s Gospel Luke 15:1-10.
“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” John Dewey, American scholar.
Today is Education Sunday, coinciding with the start of the new academic term for those in education of any sort. It’s a challenging time for students and teachers alike with issues such as increases in university fees, shortages of nursery places, difficulties with crumbling buildings and controversies over the legacy of Covid causing social and mental health issues for some with the use of mobile phones and the accessibility of the dark web all contributing to the complexity of education today. Equally, Oxford and Cambridge are amongst the world’s leading universities and today’s school students have a range of opportunities not available to those of previous generations who were taught with chalk and talk. Just as discipline is sometimes criticised as being too lax today, so it has been not only severe but occasionally dangerous in bygone times – I was in various classes where chalk or the wooden blackboard rubber was thrown across the room at a rowdy pupil and narrowly missed being hit in the head by one when I turned at the wrong time!
One of the earliest instances in Jesus’ life shows him, unbeknownst to his parents, staying behind after a visit with his family to Jerusalem so that he could listen to the Rabbis in the Temple, learn from them and ask them questions (Luke 2:41-51). Jesus was often called ‘Rabbi’ or ‘Teacher’ as he taught his disciples and the crowds who flocked to hear him – he also told his followers to let the children come to him (Matthew 19:14). The church followed his example down the centuries through monasteries, universities and schools and, here in Wales, the circulating schools were developed in the eighteenth century by Revd Griffith Jones so that a group of children could be taught to read the Bible and could then pass this learning on to others. This was remarkably successful in establishing early literacy, often in the Welsh language, and Sunday Schools also became a means of teaching the young. The church is still involved in education today, as are other faiths, and these schools are not without critics as well as supporters.
It’s in this context that this week’s murder of the right wing activist Charlie Kirk at a debate on the campus of Utah Valley University assumes a chilling context, occurring in a setting where free speech is usually lauded. The comments about this made by the President-elect of the Oxford Union also seemed to contradict free speech in an academic setting where considered debate is normally paramount, although these remarks were later withdrawn. Kirk’s right wing and conservative views led him to debate freely with those who opposed him and, as such, he was an open target for Tyler Robinson to assassinate. Ironically, in trying to silence the voice with which he disagreed, Robinson has created a wider platform for Kirk’s message to be heard, with some terming him a martyr as outrage at his murder spread across social media and as his defiant widow and others vowed to continue and develop his work.
Robinson himself had been a successful pupil and was in the third year of an electrical apprenticeship, seeming to be a promising student. However, there is a world of difference between schooling, learning and education and although he had good prospects Robinson chose to become a murderer. He may well pay a heavy price for it as calls begin for him to face the death penalty for one of the most significant political killings in recent US history.
Today is also Holy Cross Day, when the means of a terrible death eventually became a symbol of hope and peace and when the life intended to be snuffed out was transformed into a new way of being and living. Jesus speaks in today’s Gospel of seeking the lost and so may Charlie Kirk’s family, friends and organisation Turning Point, having reached out to so many young people as they seek their way in life, discover that they also find the care and support they now need from the Good Shepherd and those around them in their own devastating loss. Will this become a turning point for all involved or will it accelerate the tensions that are obvious in the UK as well as America, clearly shown in the violent and divisive demonstrations in Whitehall yesterday?
Nelson Mandela suggested that, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” At this time of such profound change, life itself has much to teach us – what are we learning and passing on to the generations to come?
With my prayers; pob bendith,
Christine, Priest Guardian.