Traditions

Have you ever watched the movie, "Fiddler on the Roof".  I remember watching it with my parents as a child. But, it made much more of an impact on me when I served as a missionary in Kiev, Ukraine.  The 1971 musical film was  produced in a village not far from Kiev.  It is a funny and sad story.  Tevye, the father of five daughters, is an orthodox Jew in a Russian Orthodox Christian world experiencing revolution.  Tevye attempts to hold onto traditions in the midst of changing and challenging times.  His daughters, on the other hand, find many of his traditions old fashioned and meaningless.

Traditions?!  Are they good or bad?  Traditions can be both.  In Matthew 15, Jesus is forced to tackle the question of religious traditions.  Some in his day had laid man-made rules and regulations as the foundation of the Jewish faith.  Jesus challenged them to get back to God's truths rather than just "going through the motions" and following human tradition.

I wonder how many religious or family traditions we follow which really have no meaning for us today?  Traditions aren't bad in themselves -- only when they mislead us or loose their meaning do they become useless.

Join us Sunday at the ARC for worship as we consider our traditions and God's truths.  See you there.  Pastor Tom