In the Year of Our Lord 2024-2025: A Veritas Festival
Classical Christian schools have a self-imposed higher bar to clear. When it comes to “handling problems”, all too often the reaction or response is mis-measured corrections that do not truly address the issue at hand. Specifically, let's take the usual response to bullying in schools as a cry for anti-bullying. The better Kingdom counter to bullying is the raised bar of kindness, gentleness, and compassion. Another example might be that in a fragmented and divided world, the low bar would be accepting the division and living with it. The Kingdom counter to such discord and hostility is God’s peaceable community. That is the warm, hospitable, gracious, convivial, welcoming community of the people of God.
In our current culture where the commonplace way of speaking to one another is name calling and shouting and where the day-to-day life is frantic and combative, at Veritas Christian Academy, we have purposed to become a festive community of teaching and learning with the Lord at the center of the celebration. Here is a key quote from Father Nathan Carr’s book Festive School: Restoring Joy, Liturgy, and Celebration in Christian Education. “In a world in which schools publish matriculation and post-graduation placement rates as their primary proof of success, it's more important than ever for classical, Christian Schools to speak of festivity, of truth, goodness, and beauty, and of prayer as those things to which the best kind of education aspires…the church is a joyful, festive society and the (Christ-centered Classical) school is one of her outposts.”
In one of the most telling moments from the Gospels where the multiple calls for festivity were missed, our Lord says this, “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’ For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is made known by all her children.” Luke 7:31-35
This year at Veritas we will be extra mindful of what really matters when it comes to being a festive school. In Biblical terms, the common characteristics of a festival are usually the clear presence of the Lord, fellowship among those celebrating, abundance from the hand of God, festive rituals and ceremonies, a constant sense of God-given joy, and a lively celebration. Now, there is one final element of most festivals and many feasts and it is essential--the key element central to most festivals is sacrifice. The twist on this point is that in the day-to-day life of our school, that sacrifice is the staff! As Paul wrote to the Romans, “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
At our closing prayer of our first faculty and staff devotional, I requested that the three Principals join me as we offered a prayer and blessing for our Veritas teaching and learning community this year. To our greater community, see below and be blessed by the prayers offered for our staff and we ask that you join us in praying for those that sacrifice daily for the festival that is to be celebrated.
Dr. Woods: Father of all festivity and holy communities, please hear our prayer…
Mrs. Reed: Oh God who calls His people to shared pilgrimage, we have often unnecessarily labored alone in our callings, but we pray by your grace that we know that we need not walk this road alone. Let us find within this school community others of like mind and heart and of similar calling with whom we may link arms. Then bind us together, O Christ. Let us find that when we are gathered together, in this place of service, we are indeed present and powerful in your midst. Let us joyfully receive the benefits of good companionship by encouraging and carrying one another through any hard and wearying seasons, joined together in both our weeping and in our rejoicing.
Mr. Phillips: Father, may we learn along the way how to humbly serve and amplify one another's efforts, collectively multiplying the effectiveness of each person's contribution. Give us conviction to quickly prune from our own hearts the bitter budding of any competitive instinct that might divide us by jealousy and envy, recognizing instead that we participate together in one great, common work to bring your eternal Kingdom to be manifested in this time and place. Where one of us meets with some tangible measure of success in our shared calling, let each of us likewise be greatly encouraged, our hearts liberated to respond with genuine praise and thanksgiving, for such blessing is evidence of your good purposes manifested in and through our community; it is evidence that your Holy Spirit is at work among us.
Ms. Sullivan: Therefore, we humbly ask Lord that you move any rivalry to soon resolve into a deeper harmony that we might long journey together in holy fellowship. So let our community at Veritas be ever blessed by renewed strength and joy and consolation, O Lord, as we become those who spur one another on to love and good deeds, co-laboring toward the day when your unveiled glories will be made fully manifest in our shared communion and in all of your full creation.
Dr. Woods: Heavenly Father, we ask and affirm all of these things in the most joyous name of Jesus, our Lord - Amen
Comments