As you are wrapping up the final weeks of Year 2022, I trust that you are leaving behind what needs to be let go of and looking forward to what lies ahead. In a few short weeks a new year will be upon us, and with it, the promise of doing better than we did the year before. This is precisely what good, healthy religion is all about — doing better!
Mediocre religion settles for maintaining the status quo and doing things just the same way it has always been done. It says, “Why push the envelope any further? Just let it coast, and everything will be okay.”
Such mediocre religion lures the believer into an acceptance that all is well with the world, and with God and no improvement is needed. The believer has already arrived, is already in the know, has nothing new to learn, and is the gravy waiting to be heaped onto the metaphorical Christmas turkey. (By the way, Merry Christmas!)
Unfortunately, the religion of mediocrity is alive and well in the world today. It settles for less than the best in theological scholarship and learning. It demands no sacrifice and faces no difficulty. It expects ease and comfort, which results in a high margin of profitability. It is the religion of the masses and often parades about in the name of Jesus and Christianity. But there is a better way, a more promising religion that does not parade about in the name of Jesus and Christianity. It is the very religion of Jesus and is the embodiment of the Christian faith.
It calls its followers to a deep understanding of the mystery of God and Christ and never settles for less than the best in one’s life, one’s world, or one’s universe. It demands sacrifice. It focuses attention on the poor, the outcast, the ‘least of these.’ It also encourages the believer to use all the tools of modern scholarship and understanding in the search for truth. It is nothing new, but it is new everyday as one realizes that there is always more to learn about faith, about Jesus, and about God.
Whenever I feel the pull toward practicing mediocre religion, the religion that just wants me to ease my way through and not think too much, I remember that time long ago when I gave my life to Christ, the real Christ not the ersatz Christ. I told Jesus that I would surrender my life to him not only during days of ease and comfort, but especially when the way grows dim and the outcome uncertain. I have followed Jesus down many a road and winding pathway never compromising my intellect or giving in to the unreasonable cries of those who would sell their faith for a quick fix or magical solution.
We in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) have another chance to start this coming year with a desire to get it right, to follow the real Christ instead of the false ones, to use our brains and not our bronze, to think rather than emote, to do instead of say, to feel deeply, to listen carefully, and to follow where Jesus leads us in our lives for the betterment of the world.
Let each of us pledge in the year to come, to do better than we did the year before, and the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that . . .
Improving-ly yours,
Ron
