Nothing is constant but change.
Be the change you wish to see in the world.
Things change.
I could come up with hundreds of pithy statements about change, but none of that would convince you that change is a good thing, especially when it comes to religion. One of the things we like about church, especially a liturgical one like ours is its dependable sameness. In a world of constant change, faith provides the security of stability.
Strange, then, that our Trinity Passports would take us on a journey of change, as if that is something necessary for our spiritual journey. Uh oh. Is it?
Be the change. Sounds like fun.
Whether it’s the change in language, from Greek to Latin to the variety of languages spoken in worship today, or the more lively issues for us today, like the place of women and other outsiders in leadership, the Church has not been the bastion of sameness we imagine it to be. Christian history can be seen as a conflict between forces of stability and change, as Christians have made sense of their faith in a changing world. Since Christians claim to worship a living God, not the unmoved mover of philosophy, this need for change should not be a surprise–even though it always is.
Bringing this message closer to home, we have to acknowledge the role of change in our spiritual lives. Often you will meet people who are stuck. Whether it’s a childhood experience or college-aged skepticism, these people made up their minds 30 years ago that God or the Church have nothing to offer. You may meet believers equally stuck, telling the same 30 year old story of conversion, as if nothing important has happened since. In all these cases, the unwillingness to move forward overwhelms any depth of thought or faith. None of us are the same as we were 30 years ago. Why would our faith be? A faith that keeps pace with the struggles and triumphs of time is relevant. For that, we cannot be afraid.
The Trinity passport invites us to entertain the idea of change from a safe distance. No dark night of the soul or existential crisis–it’s summertime! A living faith is what we are after, one that recognizes how the sacred creeps into our daily life, making our decisions and actions into more than we planned them to be. All those Christian vocabulary words–God, Christ, salvation, calling–become more than words and are a way of life. The Good News, when truly good, is always more way than dogma
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How has your awareness and understanding of God changed over the years? Where do you feel stuck? Let’s keep moving!