I recall many years ago attending an ecumenical church service. I was there on the platform as one of the line up of inner-city ministers. (Probably the only one without a robe) I think I may have been reading the scriptures in the service or something like that. Anyway as part of the service we were asked to stand and repeat the Apostles Creed, fortunately printed in the order of service. I began the creed but trailed off. "I really don't believe all this!" I said to myself. This creed in this service was meant to express the unity of the faith we churches held together, but I was standing on the platform as a minister and leader and could not honestly repeat the creed. (I am glad the Churches of Christ have a slogan "No creed but Christ!") As I stood there I began to wonder if I should be a Church minister after all, if the creed was the accepted formulation of the faith. As I took my seat I looked at the creed and began to wonder if Jesus would say it. I don't think he would! As I read the creed, I really don't think he would see these "beliefs" as all that important to walking with God. The creed says nothing about "Love." It says nothing about the "Kingdom of God" and God's purposes. It seemed to me that the things the creed featured would just not be a priority to Jesus...on that basis I figured I could stay in ministry. This experience highlights two things on the "spiritual journey." One is that we need to be honest with ourselves. (Though to be in any church will always involve mature compromise) The second thing is "perspective." It is easy to get carried away with relatively unimportant side issues. Jesus' way provides us with a way we can check out if the things we are concerned about and wrapped up in are really important.
Honesty
It is interesting that many of the books that highlight progressive thinking in the area of religion, feature honesty in the title or in the general thrust of the book. Albert Schweitzer's "The Quest of the historical Jesus" was an early attempt to be honest about the scriptures. "Honest to God" by John A T Robinson was one of the first books of this genre. "Honest to Jesus" is a book by Jesus seminar scholar Robert Funk. Bishop John Spong has a book called "Here I stand" which details his journey from a fundamentalist faith toward progressive Christianity. As he tells the story of the journey he shows how his honesty led him to make adjustments to his understanding of God, the faith, the scriptures and the Church. Marcus Borg has three similar books ("Meeting Jesus again for the first time", "The God we never knew" and "Reading the Bible Again for the first time" ) each of which outlines how the various aspects of traditional faith had stopped making sense to him. When he approached the Bible with a different perspective, then he honestly could own his faith again. It is important that we face our uncertainties, particularly if they are important, and work our way through them so that whatever faith we end up with we can "own" and give ourselves to. Someone has said that at any point "we can offer what we know of ourselves to what we know of God in what we know of life, but these three things are always changing." Our faith is a journey and if we are honest with ourselves, it will change and evolve. Sometimes we are lazy and cling to a Sunday School faith, but become essentially secular in our actions and lifestyle because it really does not ring bells for us in real life. When we front up to the Church subculture or other things religious, it is OK, but in the real world it has stopped resourcing our living. I urge you, for your own sake in the Christian journey, to be honest with yourself.
Perspective and priority
I had a man corner me a couple of times. He was sure that there were codes and all sorts of arithmetical secrets in the Bible. He had charts and codes and all sorts of writings. I lost interest, because it just did not seem that it would be a priority that Jesus would have. Another man knew in detail the dimensions and ins and outs of the Tabernacle and wanted to run bible study groups to explore such things. Others try to work out prophecy (interpreting it badly) and dates for the second coming. Each felt he was being spiritual, religious and doing God's will. But when I look at Jesus, it would seem to me to be religious hocus pocus. Jesus told the parable of the sheep and the goats and a priority for him was caring for others in various ways. He answered the question about "what must I do to gain eternal life" in part by telling the story of the "Good Samaritan." For him loving action was the important spiritual response. The Apostle Paul in the "Love chapter" said we can be and do and know all sorts of religious things, but if we have not love, we are nothing. As I grow spiritually, may these priorities keep me thinking about and tackling the important issues. May I not get side tracked into theological gymnastics that are just an escape from loving action. There is a type of "knowing" that only happens in action. Faith that sidelines loving action is not consistent with the way of Jesus.
Photo: An old man on a journey.
1 comment:
I love this post! I had left the church years ago - that Apostles Creed did me in, too. In Assisi, Italy last October, I listed to a lay Franciscan through a pair of headphones and realized that if one seeks to walk in the footsteps of Christ there's nothing religious about it. Just spiritual. I can do that.
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