As I sit at my desk today I am watching a 16 year old young lady being taught to drive by her grandfather. The excitement on her face as she got out of the passenger seat and ran around the front of the car was palpable, even from across the parking lot. This is a sort of right of passage in many parts of our society, receiving the learners permits, learning to drive and finally getting the license to drive on your own. As with any right of passage, first wisdom must be imparted, talents gained, and numerous hours of practice put in. The work is not done only by the learner, the young lady in this case, but also by those with the experience and wisdom to impart, the grandfather.
At some point after completing the right of passage, the young lady will receive that which makes her so excited, some modicum of freedom and possibility will open to her which was not previously available. She will be handed the keys to a car and she will be given the opportunity to use what she has learned, from the instruction and experience of her grandfather, and from the experience she has received in our parking lot. She will use this new talent to open up new possibilities and to live life in her own way. The experience and wisdom passed on to her by her grandfather will not be used in the same way he has used, but for something new and different, for it is her life that she is living, not his. That is what rights of passage are all about, preparing someone with the wisdom and experience of generations in order to help bring about new life.
All of this raises a question for me about the church, where are our rights of passage? I know, our right of passage, in a believers baptism church, is baptism, or confirmation in a church that baptizes infants. But, does this really do the same thing as a right of passage elsewhere in the world. It fits, in that we pass on knowledge and experience through pastor/confirmation class, but it seems lacking in the handing over the keys after we are done. Sure, those who have completed the class are welcomed as members and offered communion, but, that is doing the same thing with what they have been given as has always been done. Where is the freedom, possibility and opportunity that is supposed to come along with a right of passage? We, as in the Church, still have some learning to do when it comes to empowering believers for ministry.
