MATTHEW 16:13-20
RECENTLY
THERE WAS A SURVEY TAKEN BY THE PEW ORGANIZATION ON THE STATE OF
RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. IT SHOWED A LOT OF INTERESTING
THINGS, MOST OF WHICH WERE DEPRESSING; THE LARGEST DENOMINATION IN
THE UNITED STATES IS EX-CATHOLICS. ONLY 30 % OF PEOPLE CALLING
THEMSELVES CATHOLIC ATTEND MASS MORE THAN ONCE A MONTH. EX-CATHOLICS
MAKE UP A LARGE FRACTION OF THE MEMBERSHIP OF PENTECOSTAL AND
EVANGELICAL CHURCHES, LIKE THE ASSEMBLY OF GOD. BUT I'M NOT GOING TO
TALK ABOUT THAT TODAY.
AMONG
YOUNG PEOPLE WHO DON'T CONSIDER THEMSELVES AFFILIATED WITH ANY
RELIGION – THE SO-CALLED “NONES” – ABOUT A THIRD CLAIM TO BE
ATHEISTS OR AGNOSTICS; A THIRD CONSIDER THEMSELVES “CHRISTIAN”
BUT DON'T BELONG TO ANY CHURCH; AND A THIRD CONSIDER THEMSELVES
“SPIRITUAL, BUT NOT RELIGIOUS”. THIS LAST GROUP IS GROWING A
LOT FASTER THAN THE OTHER GROUPS,
ABOUT
FIFTY YEARS AGO, “SPIRITUAL” AND “RELIGIOUS” WERE SYNONYMS.
THEY MEANT THE SAME THING. BUT TODAY, THEY SEEM TO DESIGNATE
DIFFERENT THINGS TO PEOPLE. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SPIRITUAL?
AS
YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, THE TERM MEANS DIFFERENT THINGS TO DIFFERENT
PEOPLE. A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO CONSIDER THEMSELVES “SPIRITUAL” ARE
INVOLVED IN SO-CALLED “NEW AGE” SPIRITUALITY, WHICH MEANS PICKING
VARIOUS PRACTICES FROM HERE AND THERE – YOGA, MEDITATION, USING
CRYSTALS TO FOCUS SPIRITUAL FORCES, PRAYING TO ANGELS, – YOU NAME
IT. AND SOME OF THOSE WHO CALL THEMSELVES SPIRITUAL BUT NOT
RELIGIOUS SEE THIS AS THE ROOT OF THEIR ETHICAL BEHAVIOR; IT'S THE
REASON THEY FOLLOW THE GOLDEN RULE, DON'T DO DRUGS, ARE FAITHFUL TO
THEIR SPOUSES, AND SO ON. THEY REJECT A TOTALLY MATERIALIST ETHIC
WHICH WOULD LOGICALLY MEAN THAT LIFE WAS ALL ABOUT MAXIMIZING
PLEASURE AND MINIMIZING PAIN. THE COMMON DENOMINATOR OF THOSE WHO
ARE “SPIRITUAL BUT NOT RELIGIOUS” IS THAT THEY BELIEVE THERE IS
SOMETHING BEYOND THE MATERIAL WORLD, AND THAT HUMAN BEINGS CAN HAVE A
RELATIONSHIP WITH THAT SOMETHING, AND THAT IS ALL A GOOD THING.
SPIRITUAL BUT NOT RELIGIOUS PEOPLE REJECT ORGANIZED RELIGION,
REJECTING RITUAL AND SACRAMENTS AND SUCH, AND OPPOSING THE IDEA THAT
AN ORGANIZED RELIGION HAS ANYTHING USEFUL TO SAY ABOUT LIFE, MORALS,
OR MAN'S ULTIMATE DESTINY.
TODAY
JESUS HAS SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT THIS TOPIC. HE SAYS TO PETER, “UPON
THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH.” A CHURCH IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING
THAT IMPLIES PEOPLE GETTING TOGETHER AROUND A PARTICULAR PERSON
AND/OR A SET OF BELIEFS. IN FACT THE GREEK WORD USED IN THE
SCRIPTURES IS MORE LIKE “ASSEMBLY”. JESUS COULD HAVE USED THE
WORD FOR SYNAGOGUE, WHICH MEANS “TO LEARN TOGETHER” BUT INSTEAD
HE USED A WORD WHICH REFERRED TO PEOPLE IN A VILLAGE OR A CITY WHO
GATHER TOGETHER TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT THEIR COMMUNITY.
AND
MAYBE THAT'S THE ISSUE. IF WE ARE SPIRITUAL, BUT NOT RELIGIOUS, WE
TRY TO FORM A RELATIONSHIP WITH SOMETHING OR SOMEONE THAT IS MORE
THAN MATERIAL; PERHAPS THROUGH BEAUTIFUL MUSIC, OR ART, OR NATURE;
PERHAPS THROUGH TRYING TO LIVE A LIFE THAT HELPS OTHER PEOPLE, THAT
RESPECTS THE HUMANITY OF OTHER PEOPLE. THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO BE
“SPIRITUAL”. BUT THE BIG THING LACKING ABOUT JUST BEING
SPIRITUAL IS THAT WE CUT OURSELVES OFF FROM HUMAN EXPERIENCE. AND
THAT'S THE ROLE OF RELIGION.
THINK
ABOUT IT. IF YOU WANT TO BE A BIOLOGIST, YOU DON'T START FROM
SCRATCH; YOU READ PAPERS AND BOOKS WRITTEN BY BIOLOGISTS. IF YOU ARE
REALLY SERIOUS YOU EVEN READ ABOUT THE IDEAS IN THE PAST THAT HAVE
BEEN PROVEN WRONG. YOU DO THIS SO THAT YOU CAN BUILD ON WHAT OTHERS
HAVE ALREADY LEARNED.
SCIENCE,
OF COURSE, IS OBJECTIVE; THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD ALLOWS US TO JUDGE
WHAT IS TRUE AND WHAT ISN'T.
BUT
IN A SENSE, RELIGION HAS AN ELEMENT OF OBJECTIVITY AS WELL. IT HAS
TO DO WITH SEVERAL THINGS. ALL RELIGIONS ARE BASICALLY LANGUAGES OF
THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSION. TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY HELP THEIR
ADHERENTS BECOME MORE SPIRITUAL, THEY ARE SUCCESSFUL. HOW CAN WE
TELL THIS? WE CAN'T, REALLY, BUT WE CAN LOOK AT PEOPLE WHO HAVE
BELONGED TO THAT RELIGION OR DENOMINATION AND ASK WHETHER THEY APPEAR
TO HAVE DEVELOPED A RELATIONSHIP WITH WHAT IS TRANSCENDENT,
REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU CALL THAT “GOD” OR “A HIGHER POWER”
OR WHATEVER. HUMAN BEINGS NATURALLY PROGRESS FROM BEING INFANTS,
TOTALLY FIXED ON ONE'S OWN PLEASURE AND PAIN, TO CHILDREN, WHO BEGAN
TO SEE THAT THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE LIKE THEMSELVES, WHO ALSO HAVE
FEELINGS; AND EVENTUALLY WE NATURALLY COME TO A POINT WHERE THERE ARE
ONE OR TWO PEOPLE WHO WE LOVE, WHO WE WOULD PUT OURSELVES OUT FOR.
WHAT IS BEYOND THIS? THE TRAJECTORY OF LIFE SUGGESTS THAT MATURE
SPIRITUALITY HAS TO DO WITH LESSER ATTENTION TO OUR OWN NEEDS AND
DESIRES, AND GREATER ATTENTION TO THE NEEDS AND DESIRES OF OTHER
PEOPLE. CHRISTIANITY USES THE IMAGE OF “DYING TO SELF”, BUDDHISM
TALKS ABOUT OVERCOMING ALL DESIRE. ISLAM USES THE IMAGE OF
SUBMISSION TO GOD. ALL THE RELIGIONS WHICH HAVE LASTED HAVE AT THEIR
CORE A PATHWAY TO HIGHER STATES OF SPIRITUALITY, WORKED OUT THROUGH
CENTURIES OF TRIAL AND ERROR. NOTICE THAT I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT
REVELATION, OR WHICH RELIGION IS “RIGHT”.
IN
SUMMARY, SOMEONE WHO IS ACTUALLY SPIRITUAL DESIRES TO FORM A
RELATIONSHIP WITH SOMETHING THAT IS GREATER THAN THE MATERIAL WORLD.
LOGICALLY, THAT RELATIONSHIP SHOULD CHANGE THE PERSON, SHOULD HELP
THE PERSON MATURE ALONG THE PATH THAT BEGINS IN INFANCY; IF WE DON'T
COME OUT OF OUR INFANT SELVES, WE WILL NEVER HAVE REAL HAPPINESS,
WHICH IS WHEN WE BECOME FOCUSED OUTWARD RATHER THAN INWARD; WHERE WE
DISCOVER SOMETHING THAT MATTERS MORE TO US THAN PLEASURE AND PAIN.
WHEN WE LOOK AT PRACTITIONERS OF RELIGION WE FIND SOME INDIVIDUALS
WHO HAVE ACHIEVED THAT TO A POINT OF BEING MORE THAN HUMAN. AND AT
SOME POINT THE PERSON WHO IS SPIRITUAL MUST ASK, DOES THE
“TRANSCENDENT” WANT TO DEVELOP A RELATIONSHIP WITH ME? AND IF
SO, HAS HE/SHE/IT REACHED OUT IN SOME WAY? BUT THAT DISCUSSION IS
FOR ANOTHER TIME AND PLACE.
A
SPIRITUAL PERSON WHO IS NOT RELIGIOUS IS LIKE SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO
LEARN BIOLOGY, BUT DO IT THROUGH TRIAL AND ERROR, NEVER LEARNING WHAT
OTHERS HAVE ALREADY DISCOVERED. TO BE SPIRITUAL AND RELIGIOUS IS TO
RECOGNIZE THAT THERE IS A VAST AMOUNT OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE THAT WE
CAN BUILD ON, SO THAT OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TRANSCENDENT CAN BE
DEVELOPED MORE RAPIDLY AND MORE DEEPLY. AND JESUS TELLS US TODAY IN
CLEAR TERMS THAT HE INTENDS TO BUILD AN ASSEMBLY AROUND HIMSELF. HE
TELLS US IN OTHER PLACES THAT “WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED
TOGETHER, THERE I AM”. HE TELLS US THAT IF WE HAVE A QUARREL WITH
OUR BROTHER AND CAN'T RESOLVE IT BY DISCUSSING IT WITH HIM, WE SHOULD
TAKE THE MATTER TO THE CHURCH. JESUS KNOWS THAT FOR PEOPLE TO REALLY
PROGRESS SPIRITUALLY, THEY NEED A COMMUNITY.
IF
A PERSON WANTS TO PROGRESS SPIRITUALLY, IT IS FAR BETTER TO BE
SPIRITUAL AND RELIGIOUS THAN SPIRITUAL AND NOT RELIGIOUS.
