We Can All Still Come Back
When I am not in Youth Ministry mode, I love to relax and one of my hobbies is watching my favourite TV shows. One of the TV shows I love to watch is “The Walking Dead.” I’m a dedicated fan who has sat down to watch each episode since its origins in 2010. This year, I was joined by millions of fans who experienced the loss of the main character of the series Rick Grimes (played by Andrew Lincoln).
Why am I writing about Rick Grimes on a Youth Ministry blog? To tell you the truth his leadership style inspired me when I was involved in my early days of Youth Ministry Leadership. I loved watching Rick Grimes especially during season 1 as he would lead a bunch of people from various walks of life to work together to create a better world. Rick is so committed to creating a better world that he sacrificed his own sense of justice by allowing the antagonist Negan and his followers to live in his community, regardless of the several injustices that Negan’s people had imposed on Rick’s group. For the members of Rick’s community, it is difficult for them to support their former enemies due to past grievances. Rick encourages them to see his point of view by saying “ We can all still come back, we’re not too far gone, we get to come back, we can change”.
In yesterday’s daily Gospel from Luke, we witness the miracle Jesus performs by getting the paralysed man to get up and walk.
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The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
– Luke 5:21-26
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We’re Not Too Far Gone
The man who is stretched out on the roof is like one of us. He may be paralytic, but he isn’t totally gone. He’s still alive and he has the capability to change, which is why Jesus visits him and commands him to get up and walk.
As a youth leader, when we are leading our youth groups, we encounter young people from different walks of life who bring different types of emotional baggage, which includes traumatic experiences, relationship breakdowns and all sorts of obstacles that the world has placed on their shoulders.
The beauty of Youth Ministry is that GOD has called us to look out for our younger brothers and sisters but sometimes that message can be skewed and misinterpreted. At times, when we’re running our ministry groups, we preach to the choir e.g. Youth who are already regularly going to Mass, serving in the church etc. but the forgotten youth are those who are on the outskirts of our communities like the paralytic man who was placed on top of the roof.
We give up hope on the forgotten youth and we place them in the “too hard” basket, which is contrary to the commandment that Jesus had given us at the great commission, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28-19). Jesus doesn’t tell us to make disciples of some nations or the nations we are comfortable with. He asks of us to spread his message to all, which means anyone and everyone!
When we are running our Youth Group sessions, we are helping our young people to grow, even if they aren’t answering questions, being responsive or participating actively when they are with us. Let us give all of our young people a chance to learn more about GOD, even if they are unchurched etc., just as Jesus gave the paralytic man an opportunity to be able to walk again.
We Get to Come Back
We have no record of what the paralytics life was prior to meeting Jesus but we know from the stories that he was able to live again. Our young people get to live again through the eyes of Christ when they get an opportunity to learn about him through our blessed ministry, without being judged and looked down upon for their wrongdoings.
One of the sacraments in our church that allows us to come back to GOD is Reconciliation. In my own experience, I can say when I walk into the confessional that my sins and transgressions make me feel like I’m a paralytic and when I am absolved from my wrongdoings, I am able to get up and walk confidently knowing that Jesus has forgiven me.
Youth Group is an opportunity for us to tell the young people that they are loved, that they have a GOD who is there to walk alongside them. We should offer them a chance to be forgiven through Reconciliation so they’re able to walk and lead an authentic life through Christ.
We Can Change
Not only did the life of the paralytic man change, the people who witnessed the miracle also had their lives changed before them. We don’t realise it but in ministry, we have the capability to change the lives of the young people in our group.
Sometimes Youth Ministry can feel like a chore, a place to socialize or some free time to volunteer because there is nothing better to do. However, our youth sessions can be life-changing for the young people in our group. The one hour that they spend with us can help them take a break from what’s happening in their personal lives, a place of solitude where they can meet others who will accept them for who they are.
I have experienced this feeling first hand at the Youth Group that I led at my job. There is a boy who had trouble with making friends and the only friends he had was from the famous 90s TV show “Friends”. One of his teachers invited him to come along to the youth group where, for the first time, he was able to make real friends and he got to be part of a community that loved and cared for him.
The next day, the school received an email from his mother who had been really grateful to the youth group because, for the first time when he got home, he told his family how he had made real friends. Since that day, he has been a regular attendee and he always brings along a bag of lollies to share with the rest of the team to show them his appreciation.
I’d like to sign off with a prayer of encouragement:
“Let us continue to inspire the young people by being role models of Christ, to tell them that Jesus will always love them and that they are able to do right before GOD by acknowledging their sins through the sacrament of reconciliation. Like Rick Grimes, I believe all people are precious. “ We can all still come back, we’re not too far gone, we get to come back, we can change”.
Amen.
REFLECT
- What can I do to inspire someone and lead them to Christ this Christmas?
Richie is a young Samoan New Zealander who lives in Sydney, and has had extensive Youth Ministry experience. He loves sports, anime, watching WWE and eating KFC.