The boy killed himself in the church yard. The pastor talks about the society we, adults, have created for our children. A society that compares and judges. A society that must have ‘the best’ and everything else is mediocre or disappointing.
The 15-year-old boy killed himself in the centre church’s yard broad daylight. NOBODY NOTICED him, though, he had been missing for two days and showed up on various security cameras all over town.
But why the church yard? What was he communicating?
My first thought was: How could God let this happen?
The Church is a holy place of love, acceptance, and unconditional care. Why couldn’t the boy ask for help from an adult, a priest, maybe? He went to the church to end his sufferings but could not enter the church for support.
Isn’t there something wrong with the Church if a troubled soul cannot find solace in it?
I am a regular church-goer. I love attending masses because I sense that all present are there with one single reason, turning towards God and bathing is His Presence. The Church, as an institution, however, offers nothing but pointless rituals.
In my opinion, the Church miserably fails to meet the one single purpose of its existence: TO SERVE.
How is it that one so troubled that he takes his own life goes to the church but fails to enter it?
I think that the God-concept we offer to our kids are not up-to-date enough for them. How can we expect these new-age kids to connect with an old fashioned God and with an all-suffering Jesus who died for our sins? I am not sure that kids of a fast-paced 21st century care much about a dude some 2000 years ago who did not have a mobile phone. We need to come up with a new story in rather haste!
It is our job to SERVE in the way that the seeker understands. It is a big mistake to expect today’s world to comprehend and accept stories that were told thousands of years ago to a much-much different audience. We must use the language that children can grasp and use it so they are able to connect with God on their own terms. It is NOT our job to define how one should find God, but to SERVE in a way that they can.
I want children to know that I am here for him, that I am the ONE person who never judges him, that I am available to share with him, and that I provide shelter and solace. This is the job of the Church, any Church. It is the job of any human being who claims to have faith.
Amen.
