Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is
what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: "Let my people go ...
Exodus 9:1
Since it first
appeared, this blog carried the banner ‘Religion fails whenever it sees itself as a necessary intermediary to
God.’ Although it was originally aimed specifically at the dangers of ‘institutionalizing religion’
I also realized that we have a personal responsibility to ensure that God’s gift
of faith is constantly fed and nurtured within the greenhouse of our
being. St. Paul calls that our spiritual temple (1 Cor. 6:19). It cannot simply continue to grow
if we limit or compare our spiritual growth to others. Each one of us is a unique individual, with a
unique role to play when we pray for the bringing forth of ‘Thy kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven.’
For some time now it occurred to me that God’s gift of faith
can be easily thwarted if we do not challenge our understanding of God’s
unconditional love. How do I limit that
gift if I surrender my obligation to an intermediate?
Or should I surrender my obligation directly through the Creator who lives within the
depth of each human soul? Before the ‘institution’
was ever built Jesus simply said “follow me, I am the way”! Accordingly, the role of the institution, as I see it, is to lead us to Jesus, and then let
us go to be part of an all inclusive community.
Is it possible that the institution would collapse without our
support? If so, what will it be replaced
with? The familiar aphorism “Nature
abhors a vacuum” will no doubt apply in such a scenario. Who and what would fill that void? One thing is for certain God will not suspend
his grace upon the world. Does Christian
scripture not remind us “that we are ALL children
of our Father in heaven? That He causes
his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and
the unrighteous.”? It is our personal response to God's grace and sharing that gift with others that really matters.
The basic problem with institutional religion is that it
seems to be pre-occupied with competing with other religions. Just consider the various Christian
denominations. It is estimated that
there are more than 41,000[1]
Christian denominations in the world today. If these communities cannot agree upon which
group holds the exclusive rights to ‘Truth’ then how do we ever hope to
understand another 42,000 [2]denominations
of various non-Christian religions and spiritual beliefs? Is this a problem for God, or is it simply a
problem that ignores the unique understanding of each human being?
One of Pope Francis’ first homilies, to his flock in May of 2013, warned that “some Christians establish the
eighth sacrament “of pastoral customs” when they insist on protocol instead of
seeking to meet spiritual needs” [3]. He
concluded his homily by asking everyone to think about “the Holy People
of God, a simple people, who want to get closer to Jesus and we think of so
many Christians of goodwill who are wrong and that instead of opening a door
they close the door of goodwill ... So we ask the Lord that all those who come
to the Church find the doors open, open to meet this love of Jesus. We ask this
grace.” Surely this God given grace must apply to all people and all
of the world’s religious institutions?
There is little question that competing religious
institutions continue to divide people and communities.
And, to the extent that it continues to bring much misery and suffering
among humankind. Is it simply because religious institutions seem to demand a common and fixed understanding rather than a shared diversity? Should religious
institutions remain as expressions of an exclusive and competing faith institution rather than that of a universal community reflecting the unconditional love of
a Creator who accepts All people were they are – not where others would have
them be? I know its probably a silly dream. But a dream we will ALL come to realize sooner or later.
In the meantime perhaps it is time for all of the world’s religious
institutions to introduce a brand new vision of what it means to love God, our neighbour
and especially our self, in the form of a Sacrament that allows people to discover
their unique God given diversity rather than any false conformity – so that ALL may become
as One! I would call that, in Roman Catholic terms the 'eighth sacrament'
‘To Let my people go, and let thy Kingdom come,often seems like a bit of wishful thinking but
let us together consider the alternative.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_denominations
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religions_and_spiritual_traditions
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