The congregation I last served full time is without a pastor again. They join the ranks of sheep without a shepherd. Again.
I’ve been thinking about why this is, even allowing myself to imagine a day when a congregation that opened its doors in 1731 has to close its doors short of its 300th anniversary and forfeit the property to the governing church body because pastors are few and far between, and because they can’t support themselves anymore. It would be an achingly sad, yet somehow not far-fetched development. Which leads to the bigger question of how such a thing could happen, and why.
Short answer? Covid 19 happened, though even before the pandemic, people were already finding other things to do with their time. People are being swayed by reason and what they perceive as concrete realities, which are easier to deal with. Religious faith is becoming more transactional. People are disproportionately concerned with what’s in it for them.
People are also discouraged, asking “Why bother? God doesn’t seem to be around anyway, and we’re really tired of waiting, really tired of a closed canon and ancient words on a page and walking by faith and not by sight, of not catching an occasional glimpse of the divine, seeing a flicker of hope. Tired of the party line we hear every Sunday about how Jesus loves us and God is with us.”
“Really? Is God really with us in the midst of the weariness and pain and escalating planetary madness? What should God’s presence feel like? What is God waiting for?! We’re tired of waiting for our reward!”
The anger is of course a reflection of my own unrest and doubt. My head has long ruled my heart, though if religious faith is only about heart, then what good is it? How can it be anything more than a crutch, a construct? A mere warm, palatable thought that soothes consciences and gets us through a day.
Maybe this is all just cyclical and the church will enjoy a rebirth, another period of health and vitality. But the question will always be, ‘WHY?” Why did it come back?” Was there a precipitating incident that scared people shitless, caused people to “get religion” again?
Would it be because God is indeed real and won’t allow the church on earth to perish? Or will it be, once again, simply a matter of people turning to God when all hope seems lost and there’s nowhere else to turn, and faith will last only as long as people are afraid and unsure?
Enough of the shroud. Enough of the mystery and inscrutability, and the confounded divine timetable. God is God and we are not, and all that. Still, I’m not the only one who needs reassurance that religion isn’t just a crock.
Alas, knowing for sure will always be out of the question. In the meantime, the onus is apparently on us to bring in the kingdom.
Ugh. A lot of folks are about ready to say, “No, thank you. We aren’t Pavlov’s dog, salivating over the news of an empty tomb, then waiting for next year when we’ll do it again.”
900
3 Cents' 