Meditation on Where We Learn

I love it and I hate it, this first day of school.

I love the routine, the beginning of a new season, a time to begin again. And I hate sending my kids away. Every year I contemplate home education. I know hate is a strong word. I mean it.

When I was young, I was at a birthday breakfast with my dad — a school day. A retired educator sat next to us and asked why I wasn't in school. I told him it was my birthday, that I was homeschooled, and had the luxury of a slow morning. "HOMEBOUND!" he yelled through a mouth full of breakfast. My dad graciously told him it was educators like him that made homeschooling an easy decision.

I tell that story every year, because it's tempting to let the memory settle the argument. But I don't think God is calling us to settle where we educate our children. I believe we hold two responsibilities in tension: stay connected to community, and educate our children — no matter where they receive their basics.

A Lutheran pastor once told me every child is home educated — the parent is always responsible, no matter where the child learns math.

Scripture holds this same tension. We're told not to be worldly, yet to remain in the world. It would be easier to escape the world's influence by retreating with our families into the woods. But Christ calls us into community — He consistently shows up to communities of people, not individuals in isolation. Israel was a nation called to be His light to the world. At Pentecost, He showed up to a gathered community and instituted the church — now called to be light to the nations.

What happens to a family, or a church, when either one gets neglected?

As your kids head "back to school" — wherever they head — ask both questions, not just one. Am I educating my child? Am I connected to the community God has placed me in? Let that tension remain.

Bless you,
Pastor