How many
times have you heard the phrase, “I’m spiritual but not religious”? If you’ve listened at all to the culture
around us, this is a slogan that has gained a lot of traction over the years. Heck, I used to say the same thing myself
back in my college days. Having had
enough of all the religious hypocrites in church who spoke words of love
without actually living them, I became the poster child for being spiritual but
not religious. Even in seminary, I put
down those who were “religious” presuming that those who claimed to be
religious automatically saw themselves as better than everybody else. While there are some religious Christians who
wrongfully elevate themselves by judging the lives of others, I am beginning to
see that being religious is not such a bad thing. Being religious might be a more faithful
following of Christ than being spiritual.
As we know,
the word “religious” is “religion” dressed up as an adjective. “Religion” comes from the Latin, “religare”
which means “to bind together”. In other words, “religion” implies a communal
identity. Or as the Methodist pastor,
Roger Wolsey puts it, “giving a damn about the well-being of others”.
Contrast
this to being spiritual. To be spiritual
is to be connected to God. Though being connected to God is a really good thing,
what happens when this is all we focus on?
Spirituality becomes just a “God and me” kind of thing. Sure Yoga, meditations, exercise and clever
Facebook posts might imply that we’ve got the goods on being spiritual and that
we’ve arrived on our spiritual faith journeys, but is that what the baptized
life looks like? Am I really just a
spiritual free agent seeking to walk with God to improve myself, or is there
more?
Enter
organized religion. Yup, I said it
organized religion. What keeps our
spiritual disciplines from becoming selfish practices of isolationism is
organized religion. Where else can we
come together from all walks of life to be nourished by a God whose
barrier-breaking son has been poured out in love for the world? Where else can we gather together to pray for
one another as well as the world? Did
you know that when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we never pray it for
ourselves? It’s always prayed for the
neighbor beside me in the pew. My prayer
for “daily bread” is always for you as yours is always for me. Jesus was pretty brilliant in giving us that
prayer.
Speaking of
daily bread, where else can we gather together to add our meager coins with
those of other ELCA folks in helping wipe out Malaria in Africa?
Still don’t
think that organized religion is a good thing?
Tell that to those religious communities instrumental in ending slavery,
promoting Women’s Suffrage, and furthering the Civil Rights movement. The fact remains that random acts of kindness
just aren’t as effective as the organized ones.
I’m not
saying random acts of kindness are bad, nor am I saying that we’re not called
to be spiritual. We certainly are. But so too are we called to be
religious: to be in community loving one
another and the world God has given us to care for.
What we do
here in church on Sunday morning is important.
We don’t come here to be seen by others.
We don’t come here to get right with God. We don’t come here to become better people. We
don’t even come here because we have light bills and salaries to pay. We come together here because that is how
Jesus connects us to God. Being active
in a congregation is how we are connected not only to the heart of Christ, but to
the entire Body of Christ as well. It is
here on a Sunday morning where lives of faith are nourished as we do life
together. It is here where we pray and
play together; where we grieve and celebrate together; where we love and serve our
neighbors and God together. Not a bad
way to spend a Sunday morning.
So am I
spiritual or religious? Yes.
Peace and
Love,
Pastor Doug
