II Timothy 1:1-14
During the long, dark years of the Soviet Union, when for
decades the Communist government both actively and passively tried to undermine
and destroy religion in general, whether Christianity or Judaism or Islam, the
Christian faith was kept alive not so much by the hierarchy of the Orthodox
Church, but by people who were referred to openly as “the babushkas”, the
grandmothers.
Walter Rogers, who was ABC’s correspondent in Moscow from
1984-1989, when the Soviet Union was unraveling, was able to see the situation
in many of its aspects: the contempt with which they were held by officialdom,
the sacrifices that they made for seventy-four years, the dangers and
discrimination that they faced, and the effect that their heroic stubbornness had
– more on their grandchildren than on their children. In 2011, he wrote:
“The babushkas devotedly
stood guard over decaying churches, lighting candles amid the dilapidation and
ruin. These spiritual sentinels were virtually helpless to prevent decades of
Soviet looting of their churches. But the babushkas refused to allow the flame
of faith to go out in Russia, even if it was only their own.
In the worst of times,
Stalin’s thugs dynamited spectacular Orthodox cathedrals. They sent the Russian
clergy to the gulags; they discriminated against believers in hiring and
education; and they stole the churches’ priceless religious icons, selling them
in the West for precious hard currency.
All the while, the impoverished
babushkas eked out an existence living on a few kopecks and handfuls of lard as
they scurried in the shadows of their darkened churches, doing their best to
protect and police these shrines, demanding dignity and decorum from all who
entered.
The
babushkas’ critical role outside their churches was at least as central to
Russian society as their role in preserving religious ritual. With Soviet mothers working at full-time jobs, it
was these grandmothers who raised generations of Russian children, teaching
them whatever morality and ethics they could because the Communists had
dismantled the traditional rudder of societal morality, the churches.”[1]
I
can only imagine what must have passed through the minds and stirred in the
hearts of such women when they heard the words of II Timothy:
“I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived
first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives
in you.” [II Timothy 1:5]
In a way, they were continuing a
tradition that stretches back to the days of the apostles. They were, themselves, apostles of the faith
no less than Peter or Paul and, in fact, Paul himself recognizes that his work
for Christ built on the strong foundations that were laid by Lois and Eunice
long before he came onto the scene, just like thousands of unrecognized
Tatyanas and Natashas and Olgas were to do two thousand years later; just like
thousands of their counterparts around the world do every single day.
And,
while I’m at it here, let me say that grandfathers often do the same thing in
their own way. It’s just that Paul
mentions these two women at a time when the leadership of women in any sense was,
to many, unimaginable.
This
past week I picked up a book for the church library. It’s called The Power of a Praying Grandparent.
Parts of it are kind of cheesy, to tell you the truth, but it is right
on target in recognizing how a good grandparent can be central to the spiritual
development of a child and the prayers that the author records for grandparents’
use are well worth taking as a model for others. Even in our situation, where there is no
organized suppression of religion the way there was in the Soviet Union,
parents are often up against a lot, and the grandparents often become the
default support system for meeting the family’s spiritual, as well as physical,
needs. She points out that
“…the process of bringing forth and raising children is
exhausting. The sleep factor – or lack
thereof – complicates things when parents are trying not to neglect their
spouse and marriage. This can seem like
an overwhelming task. If one spouse is
not even in the picture – for whatever reason – and the parent raising the
child is a single mom or dad, the worry factor goes up greatly. A single mom or dad may be the only one in
charge of the rent, mortgage, food, clothing, medical care, schooling, and
every other need of the child or children.
Without having the emotional support of someone to share the duties of
being a good parent, the responsibility can seem impossible.
As grandparents, we usually don’t fully carry the same burdens
the way a parent does, although these things concern us greatly. That is, unless the child is not only laid in
our lap, but also the total responsibility for our grandchild is laid entirely
on our shoulders because the parent or parents cannot care for their daughter
or son. Many grandparents experience
that.”[2]
When it comes to raising children,
parents may be the Marines but the grandparents are the Reserves and the
National Guard. One weekend a month and
one week every summer keep things going.
It
can be difficult in its way, too, because the grandparents often don’t get to
see how everything turns out for the grandchildren in the long run. Age or illness may take them out of the
picture at just the time when the grandchildren they have nurtured are at an
age where they are making their mistakes or getting things right. Again, hear the words of II Timothy:
“I remind you to rekindle the gift of God
that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of
cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” [II Timothy 1:6-7]
That word, “rekindle”, says not to give up on future generations or, if you
fit the calling, your mission to them, but to recognize that even if it looks
like things may be going awry, that when the spark of faith has been present in
someone’s life the breath of God, the Holy Spirit, can blow it into an open
flame to give light in the darkness and warmth in a cold world. That spark may come from people who may not
live to realize how long it can smolder before blazing up but whose faith is
real faith, “the assurance of things
hoped for, the conviction of things unseen”. [Hebrews 11:1]
Of
course, it’s even better when they’re still around to see it, and just happen
to have brought marshmallows.
No comments:
Post a Comment