A Rabbi Taught Me How to Be a Good Christian

by Dan Franklin, Coordinator of Discipleship Ministries

In the spring of 1998, I was finishing up a Bible study class taught by Byron Thompson.  I had just joined Westminster in May 1997 after being away from church since college, the same pattern that many young people follow.

One of our last classes that spring was a visit to Temple Israel for Shabat.  Temple Israel, on the surface, looked like the Presbyterian congregations I knew.  That particular Sabbath was the annual Holocaust remembrance, known as Yom Hashsoa.  The text that day was the story of the deaths of the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, from Leviticus 10. 

Joseph Edelheit was the Senior Rabbi and taught that Nadab and Abihu were not evil, just misguided (God killed them because “they offered unholy fire before the Lord, such as he had not commanded them,” Lev. 10:1).  Rabbi Edelheit then went on to link the sons of Aaron to Roosevelt and Churchill and their decision not to go immediately into German territory to liberate the camps, and then to President Clinton’s Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, on which the rabbi had served.

This is when the sermon changed.  Rabbi Edelheit was not only discussing current politics in a direct way, he was declaring his anger that the work of the council had been wasted because, even though they found that needle-exchange programs reduced the spread of AIDS  without increasing drug use, President Clinton decided against instituting a needle-exchange program.  The rabbi was so angry that he was pounding the lectern.  I had never seen a Presbyterian pastor do that!

I took from that experience a definition of misguidedness as not taking action when people are suffering, when one has the ability to make a difference.  At the time, I had no money or political connections, so all I could do was be a part of a church with a strong commitment to social justice and vote my conscience on election day.

And that is the blessing that I count every day – that I am part of a church with a mission to be a “telling presence in the city” and the world.  And that, as part of that commitment, Westminster maintains close ties with sisters and brothers from other faith traditions so that we as a congregation can learn and grow from our engagement with the community outside our doors. 

We have seen in the news that people in Somalia are dying by the score due to the severe drought affecting that part of Africa. Feed My Starving Children fights hunger around the world with an innovative system of food packets that provide meals for the malnourished.  On Saturday, October 1, people from Westminster will be at the Coon Rapids location and spend two shifts, 11:30 – 1:30 and 2:00 – 4:00, filling those food packets.  We need a total of 220 volunteers to fulfill our commitment and I hope you will be there! Please contact me to sign up and show your commitment to making a difference in the lives of our neighbors.

NOTE: At least 50 more volunteers are needed TODAY. Please contact Dan Franklin by 8:00am Wednesday, Sept. 28 to let him know what shift you can work and also if you would like to carpool. Thank you!