Sunday Homily, October 7, 2007, 27th in Ordinary Time
Readings: Habakkuk,1, 2-3 & 2, 2-4;Psalm 95; 2 Timothy 1, 6-14; Luke 17 5-10.
Habakkuk: the words of this prophet come from the end of the 7th century, B.C. at a time when the Babylonians were in power. He was deeply disturbed by their violence and asked Yahweh why he was silent. Yahweh’s response was that he will rescue the people in his own time. But meanwhile, the good will live on because they are faithful to Yahweh.
In our selection we have a bit of both: Habakkuk’s complaint & Yahweh’s response. This connects with Luke’s gospel which touches on faith and the servant who simply is doing what he is supposed to do.
Faith? In What?
A short while ago Donna sent me a quiz on religion. A handful of questions asks about what a person believes. Like, do you believe, or not believe in God? What do you think happens after you die? And so on.
After you finish the quiz you are matched up with the religious group with which you have the closest fit. My closest fit turned out to be Liberal Quaker. Roman Catholic for me was in the twenties. So why don’t I become a Quaker? Because it does not feel like home, which Catholicism does. I hope to work with the essentials of Catholicism. Some say this is being a cafeteria Catholic. I would prefer to call myself an a la carte Catholic. The only intellectually healthy way.
I thought of all this because of Luke’s comments about faith. If I had faith I could uproot trees. I would be happy to just get rid of the weeds in the lawn. Is this not exaggeration? Sadly some sects take it literally, as you know. Faith is the product of a process, often called faith formation. And this is where it really gets tricky. Who determines what is taught to young people and members of a religious group? What I was taught as a child, wow. So much of it I don’t accept any more.
My Catholic education was anomalous. I learned to critique literature, poetry, politics, government, psychology, but not religious instruction. I memorized that. That religious instruction was supposed to be my faith. Doubts & questions were not encouraged.
This leads me to make a distinction between religion and spirituality. I think both religion & spirituality produce my faith. My spirituality, likewise, is influenced by religious instruction. Some of these observations come from Vaillant’s Aging Well.
First, religion is usually exclusive, while spirituality is inclusive. For example, If you don’t believe the pope is infallible, you are excluded from the membership. If you don’t wear certain dress, you are expelled or criticized.
Secondly, religion comes from outside, while spirituality comes from inside. True, my spirituality is not formed in a vacuum. It receives input from outside sources. Spirituality, however, sifts and sorts before accepting it.
Thirdly, religion is certain and proclaims creeds & dogma that have to be believed. Spirituality searches. It involves feelings, experiences, and uncertainty.
My brother in law gave me a good book on how religions become corrupt and evil, eventually losing their original charism. (When Religion Becomes Evil, Charles Kimball) Five characteristics:
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Absolute truth. For example, infallibility.
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Absolute obedience. We Jesuits took vows of obedience. Was God asking this? Or people? Like men who lived in Rome. We are all expected to be obedient to Rome.
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End justifies the means. Inquisition. Firing of theologians like Charles Curran over at SMU to eliminate alternative ideas in areas like birth control.
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Justification of the Holy War. Crusades, Jihad.
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The Special Time. Peace will come when all people believe the same religion and there will be one law, like Sheria or Evangelical Christian.
I would suggest that each person’s faith is unique and we are not homogeneous. If we are spiritually healthy.
What are the three things you have the strongest faith in?
RELIGION QUIZ: http://www.beliefnet.com/story/76/story_7665_1.html
AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-10-07.mp3