Learning to drive

Last updated on: March 15, 2011 at 2:33 pm by Fred Clark

Learning to drive 2011-03-15T14:33:05-04:00 Fred Clark

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In one of the early meetings of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment, Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard spoke about the need to help congregants “sacralize” their everyday lives. If we want people of faith to care for creation as part of their faith, the rabbi said, then we need to help them think of things like driving as an expression or a part of that faith.

I was at that meeting as part of the Evangelical Environmental Network, and when he said that, I heard it first with evangelical ears. My people are very big on this idea of sacralizing daily life. We do it with rules. Lots and lots of rules. And I wasn’t sure that adding a bunch of environmental rules to the existing very long list was going to go over very well. We already had more rules than we could possibly keep track of.

But the rabbi wasn’t talking about rules.

Blanchard discussed how few events are more significant in the life of a 16- or 17-year-old than getting their driver’s license. It’s something that American teenagers long for, look forward to and worry about for years ahead of time. And it’s something that truly, significantly changes their lives ever after.

And yet it’s a milestone, a passage, that synagogues and churches have mostly ignored.

So his congregation set out to correct that, creating a ritual and a celebration to accompany and to sacralize the life-changing moment. When members of his congregation received their driver’s licenses, the whole congregation would mark that achievement with them. I forget all the details of the ritual and celebration he described. There was a prayer to bless the driver and the vehicle, after which the new driver drove a circle around the parking lot of the synagogue seven times around to the cheers of the congregation. And then, of course, there was food — if we eat together after weddings and funerals, then it makes sense to eat together here too.

I’ve been thinking about that story a lot lately because my oldest daughter will be getting her driver’s license this spring. She has her learner’s permit, and we’ve been practicing.

I want her to drive carefully — to be full of care when she’s behind the wheel. I want her to be full of care when she decides what kind of wheel to get behind, and when she considers where she’s driving to, and why, and how far and how often and how fast and how much. And so I’ve wound up wishing we had the kind of ritual that Rabbi Blanchard’s congregation has, some formal way to recognize, emphasize, honor and celebrate this milestone — something that would help to initiate her into a community of carefulness, that would forever remind her that her ticket to ride comes with a host of responsibilities as well as rights and privileges.

Those ideas of ritual, relationship, community, belonging, identity, character and responsibility seem more promising than the rules-rules-rules approach I was accustomed to hearing when people talk about sacralizing the ordinary. It doesn’t mean there are no rules, or that one couldn’t elicit a list of rules out of all of that, but it’s a reminder that those rules aren’t the most important thing — that those rules serve something larger.

“Be careful” is a good rule, but it’s also much more than that.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

March 14, 2011

TF: Trust-busting

Next Post

March 16, 2011 Rob Bell vs. Team Hell (cont'd.)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category class warfare evangelicals Iraq Left Behind Mammon music Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Psalm is an ancient call to worship: "Make a joyful noise to the Lord"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Psalm 23 Psalm 90 Psalm 100 Psalm 117