Experience, Not Theology

After many months of planning, I was THRILLED by the great response and participation with our Lenten Program “Set Our Hearts on Fire” that started on Wednesday evening.  Our facilitator, The Rev. Gerry Skillacorn, led us on a reflection of why God loves us (Psalm 8:5 What are we that you should be mindful of us, mere mortals that you should seek us out?) with words from the Prophets: I have called you by name, and you are mine. You are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you. I am with you. (RSV Isaiah 43:1-4) Yahweh our God is in your midst. He will exult with joy over you, he will renew you by his love; he will dance with shouts of joy for you as on a day of festival. (Jerusalem Bible, Zephaniah 3:17-18a)

How does it feel to read those words of love?  Can you find yourself in the midst of this great love story – of God’s love for us? That is what we are exploring and re-membering how to do.

When I was in college studying English, one of my professors impressed upon us the importance of critical interpretation which had nothing to do with feelings.  It was an academic endeavor that used rhetoric and logic to prove our theses; our emotional response was meaningless and counterproductive.  I think I learned my lesson too well as I have followed the call into ordained ministry.  I have a tendency to make an academic case about faith – proving the importance of faith – with theology, the academic response to human experience.  Yes, it is important to support faith with sound logic and rational thought, but if we completely discount personal experience, we lose an important aspect of the story – our story of being deeply loved by God.

Part of the joy of being part of a faith community is to have a shared experience of God – of experiencing God’s love of us through and with others in the community.  Gerry illustrated this point by reminding us that Jesus tells us that he is in the breaking of the bread, not just in the bread itself! In order for the bread to be shared by the community, it must be broken, which, ironically, draws the community together.

We need the community to support our faith and learn how to thrive as Christians in an increasingly non-Christian world.  We succeed doing this by talking about our experiences, not getting bogged down in theology.  Yes, theology has its place and I am always happy to have discussions about those heady topics that keep academics employed, but they are not what we need when someone is facing heartache or even joy.  We need to emulate Jesus and offer compassion – suffering with our neighbor, offering God’s unconditional love as we have experienced it ourselves. 

As part of your Lenten discipline, I invite you to review your life and remind yourself where and when you experience God.  Where were you?  What was happening? Who were you with?  How has that experience shaped your faith story?  Is that a story you share with others?  Why or why not?
These experiences are vitally important to recognizing where we encounter God.  To invite others into an experience of their own, we must know our own story and feel authentic in sharing it.  That is the way we being to set our hearts on fire!


Happy Lent,
Rev. Valerie+

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