Skipping rocks

One of my mentors once described today's popular "spiritual, but not religious" designation as a stone being skipped across the surface of a lake. Maybe spiritual tourist is another way of thinking about it. I am a spiritual tourist myself. I value learning about religions other than my own and gleaning wisdom from spiritual practices within the ancient traditions and from more modern approaches such as depth psychology. Learning from other religions has helped me to grow deeper in my own religion, and find new insight from ancient teachings. 

Now, my religion, for context: I'm a cleric of the theistic Christian Episcopal church. We've only been around as an autonomous denomination since the revolutionary war in the United States (after it was unpopular to be associated with England.) We are from the church of England and the Scottish Church, influenced by the Celtic Christianity of that part of the world. They/we finally split with the Catholic church because of a mess of worldly and theological reasons, when King Henry the VIII opened the door of the English Reformers to take that significant step. In our Biblical study, tend to look to the ancestors of the Early Church, the reform theologians, and modern Biblical scholars. We follow the liturgical calendar and share a lectionary (schedule of Sunday readings). We speak a symbolic language, such as lighting candles on our altar, even though we paid the electricity bill. 

I count myself fortunate to have been raised in this tradition, and saw how it shaped my parents' lives. I've been at it for 48 years now, and I am still learning and growing. I have always been able to ask the questions I need to ask, wander the wilderness of my seasons of doubt, and step through those thresholds so that my faith continues to grow and change, leading me to trust in God. 

Our tradition includes seasons of the church year, receiving the Body of Christ, witnessing the initiation of new journeyers through Baptism, congregational singing, and being mindful of the needs of others. We pray for the church and world, and then seek to answer God's call to answer those prayers. What I'm trying to express here, is that I've discovered something significant to giving myself to this tradition and following Jesus through this church one step at a time, even when I don't feel like taking a step. Even when it seems like a boring step. 

We live in a world that celebrates entertainment, cherishes quick dopamine hits, and denounces boredom. Patiently waiting on a young acolyte to extinguish candles before leaving a gathering is not flashy, but shows reverence. Kneeling in silence and allowing our busy minds to settle down to hear the deep needs of our soul can be a challenge in our fast paced world. Listening for wisdom and insight from scriptures that we have read at least every three years grates against our expectation to get bullet point answers from a quick online search for data and information. 

The religion word means to reconnect. These ancient traditions, passed down sometimes through books, but often through practices and mentoring (discipleship) have been found to reconnect us with God. The spiritual practices sometimes take years to bear spiritual fruit, but a commitment accept God's grace and love often leads to new doors opening in our lives. 

Next week, starting with Palm Sunday, Christians around the world will participate in Holy Week through

which we walk with Christ to and through his cross. The same day, Passover will begin for our Jewish siblings. I'm a too late to encourage any Muslim readers to participate in Ramadan, but the Hindu/Sikh celebration of Vaisakhi will also be Monday of our Holy Week. Wherever God has placed you, growing deep into your tradition will help you tap into the living waters we so desperately need to thrive. I'm grateful to experience the growth my religious has brought me. It is amazing to me that from ancient Hebrew scripture we can read about God, who "is about to do a new thing" and experience time breaking down as a the new thing is born in our hearts and in our communities. It is life changing to know the renewal that generation after generation has experienced and valued enough to hand down to their children's children.

I will always enjoy skipping rocks across waters, but there is deep satisfaction in going for a long swim.