02/06/2011 ~ Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, Known in Some Traditions as the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12); Psalm 112:1-9 (10); 1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16); Matthew 5:13-20 ~ “Souper” Bowl Sunday ~ Communion Sunday.
Choices
“Is not this the fast that I choose, / the fast that please me? / To remove the bonds of injustice, / to undo the thongs, the rope of the yoke! / Let those who are oppressed go free, / and break every yoke you encounter!” — Isaiah 58:6b
There is a debate current among pastors, a discussion that is beginning to spill over into the popular press. It’s a discussion which started in the kinds of professional journals pastor types read. But an article about this issue was published in USA Today last April. That’s a pretty popular press, isn’t it. The headline referring to the aforementioned debate read: Survey: 72% of Millennials ‘more spiritual than religious’.
As a by-the-way and for those who may not be familiar with the term, Millennials are people born between 1978 and 2000, those born at the end of the last Century, the last generation of Americans born in the 20th Century. So, right now these are all people (or most of the people) 33 years old and under.
They account for more than 70,000,000 souls. The current population of American is 307,000,000, so this is about 22% of the population. All of the members of the Pennies for Prague group and friends who graced us their talents this morning, by definition, are Millennials. [1]
Millennials are said to be fundamentally optimistic. On average, nation-wide, Millennials also tend to be civic-minded, politically engaged and hold values long associated with progressives, such as concern about economic inequalities. Volunteerism is unusually high among this group.
Among the traits many social scientists have noted in this segment of the population, is a desire for a more multilateral foreign policy. They are willing to trust political leaders who perform well and show a non-cynical attitude toward political action and the usefulness of government. Here is one statistic of which most are probably unaware about this group. This generation, these Millennials, are larger in number— larger in number— than the so called Baby-boomer generation. [2]
So, will this group change the world in which we live? I’ll put it this way: by the time the presidential election of 2016 rolls around— that’s just five years away— statisticians estimate Millennials will be one third of the electorate eligible to vote. Put another way, in 2016 one third of the eligible electorate will be between the ages of 18 and 38.
Put yet another way, all those who are 13 years old today will be eligible to vote in 2016. But, more tellingly, statisticians also predict Millennials will make up 30% of all those who actually will vote in 2016.
The fact is that, as of now and already, this is a more politically active group than young people have been since the 1930s. And this tells us the influence of Millennials among actual voters could be quite, quite powerful.
So again, will this group change the world in which we live? I would not bet against them. (Slight pause.) All that brings me back to this survey which was reported about in USA Today, the one in which the headline read: 72% of Millennials ‘more spiritual than religious’. [3]
That USA Today article about Millennials goes on to throw out the following statistic: 65% of Millennials rarely or never attend worship services. But one could logically ask: is that a sound way to measure either religiosity or spirituality? And what does it mean to insist Millennials are ‘more spiritual than religious?’ (Slight pause.)
Let’s start by trying to define ‘religiosity’ in a simple way. Does it have something to do with going to church? Indeed, what does it mean when Scripture says: “Keep the Sabbath holy?” (Slight pause.)
Did the Israelites wandering in the desert go to church? Did Moses go to church? And why does the Prophet Isaiah ask ‘what do the ordinances of God mean?’ (Slight pause.)
Contrary to populist belief, keeping holy the Sabbath means nothing about attending church. It means each and every human being, no matter what their station— rich, poor, young, old— is entitled to a day on which no work is required.
Therefore, is it a day a person might have a chance to at least think about their relationship with God. But God does not require anything, either. So in short, keeping the Sabbath holy is an instruction about justice and the equality of all humanity.
So, some may define religiosity as keeping a set of rules. The Bible does not. Justice is defined as the key component in Scripture. And the Bible defines religiosity as justice.
So, what is ‘spirituality?’ Perhaps religiosity and spirituality are somehow tied? Is spirituality simply saying prayers? Or is part of spirituality attending a church or belonging to a church, somehow being religious? (Slight pause.)
There are three issues these questions about spirituality raise, especially as it concerns that group I’ve named— Millennials. One is ‘what does the world look like after the invention of Google?’ The second is ‘what will spirituality mean after Google?’ The third, and related, is ‘how will spirituality work after Google?’
You probably noticed I just used ‘Google’ in each of those questions. You see, that’s the way this topic was put in one of those musty old professional journals read by us pastor types. [4] It asked questions about Google. And I need to tell you neither I nor anyone else knows the answers to those questions. But let me offer my guesses.
First: ‘what does the world look like after the invention of Google?’ You can see the world changing before our eyes. The change is happening, in part, because of the aforementioned millennials.
Everything from how news is delivered to how entertainment is delivered to how education is delivered is changing. Dot-coms to i–tunes to on-line classes are with us and will probably be with us for a long, long time to come. Most millennials are familiar with the results of this revolution and use these aforementioned tools with aplomb and extensively.
Second: ‘what will spirituality mean after the invention of Google?’ What makes this question interesting is I don’t think spirituality will not change. However, true spirituality is something which is hard to do well right now and will continue to be hard to do well in the future. Why?
Again contrary to popular belief, spirituality is not simply and only about what you feel, but it is about what you feel as you learn more and more and more about one’s own self, about God and about other people. In short, spirituality is about a relationship with one’s own self, with God and with other people. Hence, learning spirituality, being on a spiritual journey, is an never ending process.
Indeed, learning more about one’s own self, about God and about people leads us to internalize what we learn. That, therefore, is what makes spirituality feel internal. But, in that spirituality is a learning process mostly about others, it is external. And again, it is hard to do now, but rewarding. It will be hard to do in the future, but rewarding. That will not change.
Last, and related: ‘how will spirituality work itself out after Google?’ (Slight pause.) Now, this is where those words in the Scroll of the Prophet Isaiah resonate (quote): “Is not this the fast that I choose, / the fast that please me? / To remove the bonds of injustice, / to undo the thongs, the rope of the yoke! / Let those who are oppressed go free, / and break every yoke you encounter!” (Slight pause.)
Spirituality is not about what you believe, not about a set of rules. But it is a group of choices. It is a group of choices about how we live our lives. Spirituality asks ‘are we making choices by which we learn to love God and love neighbor more deeply?’ Thereby, are we making a difference? If so, then we are deeply engrossed in spirituality. (Slight pause.)
In the Nobel Laureate address Barack Obama offered these words (quote): “...for all the cruelty and hardship of our world, we are not mere prisoners of fate. Our actions matter and can bend history in the direction of justice.” Our actions matter and can bend history in the direction of justice. (Slight pause.)
Institutions, institutions such as churches, and the media with its newspapers, broadcast networks and schools are all changing. Does that frightening some about the future? Yes.
But I, for one, am not worried about the future. Why? I know a lot of Millennials. They are preparing and will be prepared to offer outstanding leadership in the coming years.
They may do some things differently than they have been done them in the past. But I expect they will be committed to removing the bonds of injustice, undoing the thongs, the rope of the yoke, letting those who are oppressed go free. Amen.
02/06/2011
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “My Hebrew Scriptures professor, Dr. Ann Johnston, a Roman Catholic nun I might add, said the Israelites did not have a theology, did not have a set of rules one would memorize. The Israelites did theology. They fed the hungry, clothe the naked, tended to widows and orphans. Doing is theology. Doing is religiosity. Doing is spirituality.”
[1] A group of High School students who are raising money to go to Prague this summer to participate in a music festival offered special music. The church has been generous in helping these student reach their goal of getting to Prague.
[2] The Progressive Politics of the Millennial Generation by Peter Leyden, Ruy Teixeira and Eric Greenberg on the web site of The New Politics Institute.
http://www.newpolitics.net/node/360?full_report=1
[3] USA Today, “Survey: 72% of Millennials ‘More Spiritual than Religious’: Spiritual or Religious?”, By Cathy Lynn Grossman.
http://i.usatoday.net/life/graphics/2010/0427-millennials-faith/spiritual-religious.jpg
[4] The Progressive Christian, “Theology and the Church After Google: How This New Age Will Change Christianity,” 02/01/2011, By Philip Clayton; Originally printed in the Princeton Theological Review.
http://www.tpcmagazine.org/article/theology-and-church-after-google
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