Feb. 2013: religious musings

February holds the end of Epiphany, Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, not to mention Mardi Gras, Valentine’s Day, and the Super Bowl. What an odd mix of open celebration and quiet introspection. Yet, life itself is filled with opportunities for both. We only get into trouble when we lose the balance between the two.

In a nation of extroverts, even in worship styles, open celebration with volume and color is predominant.  If you want to “sell” anything, you do it with all the bells and whistles (literally, at times) at your disposal. And since everyone is using this approach, you need to be louder and flashier than the other guy. Christianity hasn’t escaped this temptation and we, as a faith, spend millions every year trying to get people’s attention. Unfortunately, when such a “come on” becomes the major or only focus, we do a terrible job of follow-up. We continue to supply the easy stimulation that got them in the door with bigger, brighter, more sensually intriguing “events” to draw in the curious. Cynically, as long as you keep the numbers up, there is no real need to spend time holding those attracted long enough to deepen their faith. We Christians have become quite Roman in our efforts to supply “Bread and Circuses” and quite Marxist in supplying a faith that weakens the masses.

Too much party, not enough reflection.

However, don’t get me wrong here. Too much introversion and reflection, too much self-serving pathos does not present the faith in a way that promises hope either. Unfortunately, such self-indulgent practices, totally focused upon one’s own spirituality, often leads to self-righteousness. The suffering servants spend more time making you suffer due to your lack of faith than truly seeing how one-sided and self-centered their faith has become. This temptation is nothing new. I encountered it when reading St. John of the Cross in The Dark Night of the Soul. It’s also seen in Jesus bringing his disciples down off the mount after the Transfiguration.

Too much navel gazing, not enough shared joy.

I believe there is a proper balance of devotional singularity and community service within our faith.
So…where do you stand? Have you found the balance?