Losing Your Faith
On the television a few nights ago, I heard that an atheist in the state of Washington had filed a law suit against the city of Seattle because the identification patch the volunteer police chaplains wear includes a cross. This kind of nonsense has become so common that I asked myself, “What makes that news?”
As the report progressed, I learned what made the story newsworthy. It wasn’t the lawsuit but the man who wanted the cross removed from the chaplain’s uniform. He had been a Lutheran pastor for 30-years! A Christian minister lost his faith?
As I reeled from that news report, I remembered a dinner a few months ago where a minister informed me and two other Christians at the table that he believed in the Church but not God.
Now I have heard a lot of people say they believe in God but not the institutional church. I have some understanding, even sympathy, for that sentiment, but not to believe in God while affirming the church was not only unusual, but puzzling. So I asked for an explanation.
The seminary graduate proceeded to laud the virtues and values of the church. He said it is a place to hear inspiring messages and to adopt a code of conduct to live by. He continued talking about how the church was an influence for good in the community, promotes ideals worthy of human striving, and a provides a great training ground for children and youth. The he mentioned the hospitals, schools, orphanages, food pantries, half-way houses, and social programs that are planted and nourished by churches. At the end of his praise for the church, his voice softened and he said, “But God …well, maybe he is and maybe he isn’t.”
Last Sunday, I worshipped with John the Baptist. Similar kind of guy with a similar story.
John the Baptist recognized Jesus was the Messiah before either was born and again when Jesus came to be baptized. Later, when John was in prison, he sent his friends to ask Jesus if he was, indeed, the Messiah. The clear implication is that John had lost his faith, perhaps while sitting in a prison cell reviewing his life.
Two ministers and John the Baptist – are their experiences common or exceptional? How would you answer? Do you know anyone who has lost his or her faith?
Let me ask the question in another way. Do you know anyone who taught Sunday school for years but doesn’t bother to read her Bible any more? Have you ever attended a funeral for a church member who didn’t even show up for Christmas or Easter worship? Ever notice how faith is often applied in fox holes, hospital rooms, wedding plans, and at family gatherings for weddings, baptisms, and funerals but not obvious anywhere else? If such people didn’t lose faith, they clearly lost something. Oh how I wish losing weight were as easy as losing faith seems to be.
At worship this morning, I heard the pastor read the story about John the Baptist sending disciples to Jesus to either confirm or deny that Jesus was the One-to-Come. While he read the familiar story, my mind went back to my encounters with ex-ministers. As a result of that mental excursion, I stumbled on the reason I was in worship this morning in spite of the snow and cold that I considered hiding under to excuse my absence.
I had been asking myself some profound questions in recent days. How does it feel to lose one’s faith? Can others see faith slipping away or is it a private experience? Is my faith better or worse, stronger or weaker, than it was 10, 30, even 60 years ago? Am I a 21st Century John the Baptist who has new and troubling questions about the identity and purpose of Jesus?
The conclusion the preacher offered me in worship was that when times are difficult and when faith fades, what is needed is a word from Jesus. His word to John the Baptist was something like this: “So you have some doubts and you wonder if what you once believed is still true. Of course you are sitting in a prison cell, undoubtedly discouraged and maybe confused. What you need is a different set of eyes, eyes to see beyond the prison wall, eyes to penetrate the darkness, eyes to take in a bigger world.”
After the story from Scripture, the preacher’s sermon, and my own reflections had settled in my soul, I heard Jesus speak a similar word to me. "Get another set of eyes."
If your faith is not what it once was, maybe you also need a different pair of eyes.
So it seems to me.
As the report progressed, I learned what made the story newsworthy. It wasn’t the lawsuit but the man who wanted the cross removed from the chaplain’s uniform. He had been a Lutheran pastor for 30-years! A Christian minister lost his faith?
As I reeled from that news report, I remembered a dinner a few months ago where a minister informed me and two other Christians at the table that he believed in the Church but not God.
Now I have heard a lot of people say they believe in God but not the institutional church. I have some understanding, even sympathy, for that sentiment, but not to believe in God while affirming the church was not only unusual, but puzzling. So I asked for an explanation.
The seminary graduate proceeded to laud the virtues and values of the church. He said it is a place to hear inspiring messages and to adopt a code of conduct to live by. He continued talking about how the church was an influence for good in the community, promotes ideals worthy of human striving, and a provides a great training ground for children and youth. The he mentioned the hospitals, schools, orphanages, food pantries, half-way houses, and social programs that are planted and nourished by churches. At the end of his praise for the church, his voice softened and he said, “But God …well, maybe he is and maybe he isn’t.”
Last Sunday, I worshipped with John the Baptist. Similar kind of guy with a similar story.
John the Baptist recognized Jesus was the Messiah before either was born and again when Jesus came to be baptized. Later, when John was in prison, he sent his friends to ask Jesus if he was, indeed, the Messiah. The clear implication is that John had lost his faith, perhaps while sitting in a prison cell reviewing his life.
Two ministers and John the Baptist – are their experiences common or exceptional? How would you answer? Do you know anyone who has lost his or her faith?
Let me ask the question in another way. Do you know anyone who taught Sunday school for years but doesn’t bother to read her Bible any more? Have you ever attended a funeral for a church member who didn’t even show up for Christmas or Easter worship? Ever notice how faith is often applied in fox holes, hospital rooms, wedding plans, and at family gatherings for weddings, baptisms, and funerals but not obvious anywhere else? If such people didn’t lose faith, they clearly lost something. Oh how I wish losing weight were as easy as losing faith seems to be.
At worship this morning, I heard the pastor read the story about John the Baptist sending disciples to Jesus to either confirm or deny that Jesus was the One-to-Come. While he read the familiar story, my mind went back to my encounters with ex-ministers. As a result of that mental excursion, I stumbled on the reason I was in worship this morning in spite of the snow and cold that I considered hiding under to excuse my absence.
I had been asking myself some profound questions in recent days. How does it feel to lose one’s faith? Can others see faith slipping away or is it a private experience? Is my faith better or worse, stronger or weaker, than it was 10, 30, even 60 years ago? Am I a 21st Century John the Baptist who has new and troubling questions about the identity and purpose of Jesus?
The conclusion the preacher offered me in worship was that when times are difficult and when faith fades, what is needed is a word from Jesus. His word to John the Baptist was something like this: “So you have some doubts and you wonder if what you once believed is still true. Of course you are sitting in a prison cell, undoubtedly discouraged and maybe confused. What you need is a different set of eyes, eyes to see beyond the prison wall, eyes to penetrate the darkness, eyes to take in a bigger world.”
After the story from Scripture, the preacher’s sermon, and my own reflections had settled in my soul, I heard Jesus speak a similar word to me. "Get another set of eyes."
If your faith is not what it once was, maybe you also need a different pair of eyes.
So it seems to me.
posted by John | 10:56 AM
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