When I think about "jumping" in a Christian context, my thoughts immediately go to one of the stories Terry Camsey used when he taught about Church Growth for 25 years ago. He told the anecdote about the "jumping nuns".
The tradition of the Order was that the nuns jumped while they were praying. There is no harm in jumping while praying, but when someone asked “why”, no one knew the answer. On closer examination, it came to light that when the order was founded, the nuns were barefooted when they prayed. The reason was the passages where Moses and later Joshua (1) were asked to take off their shoes because they stood on holy ground. The combination bare feet and a cold paved floor made to the nuns jump to keep warm while they prayed. They continued this tradition also after heating was installed in the monastery. Jumping had become part of the tradition.
There is nothing wrong with traditions as long as I know that they have a purpose and a function. However, it is dangerous to be stuck in a "jumpers’ land" where the tradition is drained of its content.
The Christmas Mystery was, and is, a protest against vain traditions.
'Manna' for today:
I belong in a land rich on content!------------------------------------
(1) Exodus 3:5 & Jos 5:15
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