Spiritual or Religious? Preached at Wollaston Congregational Church June 4th, 2017 Do you think of yourself as spiritual, religious, not very spiritual or not very religious, or possibly spiritual but not religious? At different times in my life, people have said to me “you are very spiritual” or “you are very religious.” I have been under the impression that the first is intended as a compliment. Perhaps it is said with a little envy, as if I have something that is unattainable for the person who is speaking. They have probably gotten the wrong impression, only seeing me at moments when I am at my most centered and calm. They haven’t seen me in heavy traffic on route 128 … not so spiritual then. Sometimes a church member may say to me, “I am not very spiritual.” Is that you? Perhaps the spiritual practices we sometimes use in prayer and worship make you uncomfortable. Perhaps you prefer to get on with the business of church, the doing. Perhaps you feel uncomfortable with “the journey within”, you’re afraid of what the silence might reveal. Has anyone ever told you “you are very religious”? I think this is intended less as a compliment, more of an observation. The people who say this to me know I’m involved in church and attend regularly. I follow the rules and color inside the lines. Sometimes they seem to feel shown up or embarrassed by what they think of as my religiosity. Many people, both within the church and outside, have said to me “I am not very religious.” Is that you? Are you troubled by the notions of belief and commitment that you associate with religion? Perhaps you don’t want to “buy in” to doctrines and principles that make no sense to you. Religious historian and writer, Diana Butler Bass, asked various groups she was working with to list words that they associated with the word religion. They include words such as: institution, rules, order, dogma, hierarchy, boundaries, and certainty. What people call “Organized Religion” is generally seen as harsh and harmful, hypocritical and judgmental. [1] And to be truthful, the Church, our church, has lived up to these labels in many times and places. Then, of course, there are the people who say “I am spiritual but not religious.” Maybe that is you. I’m sure you know that the SBNR movement, as it is known, has gained traction in recent years. People who are SBNR seek out spirituality outside the confines of “organized religion”, through popular mind-body-spirit practices such as tai chi, reiki, or yoga. Diana Butler Bass also listed words that her group attendees associated with the word spiritual. These include: experience, inclusive, intuition, prayer, doubt, and wisdom. [2] Almost from the very beginning, the Church, has lived in tension between Spirit and the structures and rules of organized religion. Most religious movements, such as the Great Awakenings of American history, began with Spirit and Passion. Yet, places are needed for the growth and development of those new to the faith. In order allow those who experience heart change to live into their new way of life, religious structures are needed. In order for the organization to discern the prompting of the Spirit, and hear the communal wisdom of the congregation, procedures and guidelines were needed. With these thoughts in mind, let’s turn the story of the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Apostles were gathered in that house in Jerusalem, all those years ago. It was the Jewish festival of Pentecost, 50 days after Passover, when Jews and others, known as “God fearers”, were gathered from all around the known world. These people spoke many different languages. The apostles faced many challenges, but one thing they didn’t have to deal was a conflict between spirituality and religion. Those words would make no sense in their context. All they knew was that they, the friends and followers of Jesus, were gathered together in this one place. Suddenly there was a wild and dramatic experience of the presence of God manifest in wind and fire the Holy Spirit. Immediately they were empowered to preach of what was happening, in a most miraculous way. It seems that all of the disciples were moved to speak at once, in languages that were understood by the diversity of people gathered around. As Peter explained, this wonderful event had been anticipated by the prophet Joel: 'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.’ This outpouring of Spirit was a heart-opening event, which would include all kinds of people: all ages, all genders, all socio-economic groups. The receptive ones among the crowds found an amazing commonality in the coming of the Spirit. Even coming from different cultural backgrounds and nationalities, they each heard the apostles words in their own tongues. But, there were also people in Jerusalem that day who did not appreciate this coming of this unifying Spirit. They were the ones who sneered at the apostles’ apparent ranting and said “what are they drinking?” I suspect that they were ones who were bound up in the existing religious establishment. They resisted the heart-opening experience of the Spirit. They wished to keep these uneducated Galilean out-of-towners in their place. And so it has been, for much of the history of Christianity, that those who are invested in the rules and structures, the organized religion if you like, have been inclined to sneer at those who have speak of radical spiritual experience. Especially if those who are coming from the outside. And I can relate. Having attended church my whole life long, I am inclined to be one of those who likes order and structure. And when newcomers come along, I like to tell them how we do things. First we have the call to worship, then the first hymn, then the call to confession. You get the idea. I like the Spirit, too, but ideally the Spirit will fit into the program I have planned. I follow the rules, I color inside the lines. A few years ago I read the book “Take this Bread” by Sara Miles. The author describes coming to the Episcopal church “St Gregory of Nyssa” in San Francisco for the first time, as an atheist. She describes her conversion experience: “One early, cloudy morning when I was forty-six, I walked into a church, ate a piece of bread, took a sip of wine … until that moment I'd led a thoroughly secular life, at best indifferent to religion, more often appalled by its fundamentalist crusades. This was my first communion. It changed everything.” [3] Sara Miles was attracted by the warmth of St Gregory’s: the open and welcoming communion, alternative liturgy, song and art. Very soon, she noticed the needs of the many poor people in the vicinity of the church, and felt the need to extend the “open” communion to feeding the poor of the city. As she became more involved in the church, Sara listened to the Spirit’s leading and began a mission from St Gregory’s to feed the poor. She began with a food pantry and moved on to serve delicious cooked meals for the community right out of the church. As I read the book, I was moved by Sara Miles’ response to the Holy Spirit she first experienced in St Gregory’s. And I was impressed that she quickly heeded the calling to feed the poor through her new church. But I found myself getting a little irritated by how harshly Sara Miles portrayed the leaders of the church. She described their reaction as hypocritical, as some leaders resisted the disruption of the growing food ministry. I figured that Miles was inexperienced in matters of church life. I felt defensive on the part of her congregation. My impression was that she didn’t realize that congregations are always flawed and in need of renewal and forgiveness. She seemed to expect perfection. I began to wonder how members of the congregation felt about the publication of a book, in which Sara Miles highlighted and criticized their hypocrisy. I’ve occasionally entertained such feelings of irritation and defensiveness, when people have come along with new gifts for my church. It’s a reaction not too different from those who sneered on that day the apostles first received the Spirit. Often a newcomer’s heart has been changed by the warming, stirring action of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They have attempted to share the passion that the spiritual experience has ignited in them with the church. They have been sent to teach us something. Sometimes, this includes some criticism of our way of being. When I feel irritated or defensive, I would do well to remember some of the reactions I encountered some years ago at my former church. My husband and I had joined the church while our children were very young along with a number of other young parents. As I began to talk with some of the other mothers, we shared feelings of being overwhelmed while trying to balance work, parenting, and some kind of a spiritual life. Many young moms told me that they felt at sea, spiritually, and they were longing for some grounding. I talked with another woman in the church, and we decided to begin a group for mothers of young children. With the support of our pastor, we gathered weekly to study scriptures and grow in our spiritual lives. But some of the established church women did not welcome this supportive group. Instead they responded with opposition. Their institutionally entrenched “Women’s Association” was seeking out new leadership. The women who had supported the association over the years wanted to hand on the baton to some of the younger women. They objected to what they saw as our “self interested” group. They saw is as opposition to the association that was focused on service to the church. They could not understand that the newer women were not ready to take on institutional responsibilities, until they had received some help, support and spiritual growth. It was while I was providing leadership of the mothers group, that people started telling me I was spiritual or I was religious. I guess I was a little of both, perhaps you are too. And so we must remind ourselves, that there is a hunger and thirst for the Spirit in our world. If we are willing to support their visions, young ones may see the future for our church. Elders, dreaming their dreams, may imagine how the spiritual may be integrated into our religious life. Hearts of people in our world are stirred daily by the warming, action of the Spirit in their lives. We would do well to pay attention. The Holy Spirit came to the apostles on the day of Pentecost and the Church was born. On this day of Pentecost, let us embrace both the Spirit and the Church. Amen. [1] Diana Butler Bass, Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening, (HarperCollins, New York, NY, 2013), 69 [2] Ibid. [3] Sara Miles, Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion, (The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC, 2006), 58
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