Misunderstanding faith.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
♥ Saturday, February 13, 2010
"With every step of our lives we enter into a story that we are certain to misunderstand" GK Chesterton. I've entered into a catholic story. And I am certain that I have misunderstood it. Maybe the biggest mistake that I used to make is to think that this religion is one of expectations.
We expect to be saved, we expect to meet the nicest of persons and we expect others to safeguard our vulnerabilities. On the other hand, we take on the full brunt of a whole host of other expectations: that of commitment, the rules and rites that we have to go for and those others have of us. Thus, a day of "obligation". Expectations are a bag of bricks and it makes us ask, sooner or later, what is the meaning behind all of it.
I do think that there is an invitation to interpret it all differently. "If you know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, why cant you interpret the sign of the times?" Matthew 16:2-3. The question is: is there? Is there a way to see the cup half-full?
It is not easy to recall, constantly, the self-evident and obvious fact that we are human. But that is the starting point of any meaningful reflection: because I am human, I am a person who's embraced by all that my humanity clothes me with. Those are sentiments, failings, achievements, weaknesses, losses, rights....and responsibilities. Responsibility, in my opinion, is the other interpretation.
What then does responsibility mean?
First, knowing that no one lives your life.
Second, appreciating that your life has an impact on others.
Third, getting to decide what kind of impact that has on others.
Through this lens, faith then becomes personal and not imposed. Since it is "my life", I am going to decide whether to accept this invitation to believe. When I accept this invitation, I am becoming open to appreciate the fact that my life and my belief interacts with others. As a result of this interaction, I have to choose the way in which this interaction affects them. That is why the one of the greatest commandments is to love your neighbour- not because it tells others we are Christians, but because in so doing we become one.
With responsibility, comes the idea of empowerment. This is because the christian sense of responsibility is infused with meaning, it is paved with direction and cushioned with compassion. Where one reflects that his or her life is precious, because it can be gone in an instant, then the actions that flow from it becomes meaningful. With reason, comes motivation. The choices that are made is infused with a sense of purpose, and persons become reasons to hope in, rather than expect of.
It is this hope that one presents to another, when one is willing to show his or her wounds and his or her pierced sides to say "doubt no longer but believe" that we begin to uncover a little bit more, of what our faith is really about.
