Rites of passage
Many cultures have ceremonies and rituals that help a young person transition from adolescence to adulthood. These are called rites of passage. For a young person in certain native tribes long ago, it was departing from the tribe long enough to demonstrate the ability to take care of oneself. For the Jewish community, it is a Bar-Mitzvah, transitioning a boy into manhood. As Americans, we really don’t have a definitive rite of passage. As a teenager, I thought my rite of passage was getting my driver’s license and learning to drive by myself. I learned on a ’64 VW bug stick shift and a ’63 Chevy truck with three on the tree. I made solo trips from my house to my grandparents to visit. I learned to read maps and took other trips also. I thought I was grown!
For some, their rite is graduation from high school or college. For others, it might be marriage. Still for others, it might be serving in the military or getting that first job. I did all those things, but for me ultimately, I became an adult when I could take care of myself. When I could make adult decisions and take on adult responsibilities such as paying for my shelter, my clothes, my food, my vehicle, or anything else- that was my real rite of passage. In the arena of faith, we need rites of passage also. The writer of Proverbs says, “train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it.” We transition from childhood to adulthood in faith when we no longer need our parents to prepare the road for us in life, but we are prepared for the road. It is when we no longer believe in the Lord because we were told to do so, but we choose to do so. When our faith is no longer a second-hand faith but a first-hand faith, born of both reading God’s Word and affirming it through confession and practice.
What we need in the community of faith are folks who have transitioned from being young and needy to being mature and able to learn for themselves and teach others. The Apostle Paul said, “I fed you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready. In fact, you are still not ready.” (NET) The next generation depends on us going through faith’s rite of passage.