Assignment | Lesson Two | Identity

In the sermon Secondhand Religion Peter Gomes reminds us that “we are all the result of someone else’s initiative,” giving us a chance to pause and remember who might have carried us to be delivered at the feet of Christ. He goes on to say that “God is usually dispensed to us at the first and formative instance at the hands of others – parents, teachers, friends, churches, even schools and universities.” All of us are introduced to faith by someone who has come before and is taking the opportunity to share that gift with us. No one person can discover it all on their own - tradition, interpretation, community life - all come from a time and place before our own discovery. Thus, religion is “derived, inherited, passed on and received, and passed on again. We are where we are because of others and by God’s grace, others because of us, will be where they are to be.” What a beautiful image of faith being drawn forward through generations.

Learning from others, interpreting together, sharing experiences help us all to grow deeper roots and develop our faith. One person who inspired my faith was my pastor in college, Rev. Dottie Cook. She truly saw me and supported me through my transition into adulthood and some very difficult personal challenges. Dottie always inspired me to hang on and dig deeper. She has been a formative role model as a mother, as a faith leader, and as a humble servant. I’m so grateful.

Often when I think about my faith experience growing up, I immediately am brought to a sense of disconnect between my home life and what I was being told was my faith life. We didn’t talk about God or religion much in my house, apart from saying our prayers at night or hearing stories of what it was like for my parents to go to a Catholic school when they were growing up. I had a sense that the reason why we would go to church was because that was how my mom was raised and what she was expected to do. It didn’t feel like something that she wanted to do. My maternal grandmother on the other hand was deeply devoted to her church. She loved being a part of it and it was something that was so important to her. I feel that she is most likely my very first example of secondhand religion in my life. While it was never directly to me, I received it through my mother who felt the obligation to her own mother. What’s interesting now is that my involvement in my church is much more parallel to my grandmother’s than of my mother who took me to church every week. There have been other people along the way whose faith-filled lives have inspired me to go deeper into my relationship with God. I have been blessed to meet those mentors all along my journey and they guide me as I move forward and through.

Burkart’s statement of individualism being demonic felt harsh when I first read it. I had to reflect a bit on my own time of being alone in my faith. For me, I had to have that time alone to realize that I needed to meet, gather, assemble with others. It gave me the context I needed to understand the importance of it. There was a time that I felt I didn’t need church, that I was good with God. I can see that it was coming from a sense of ego that was telling me that I knew better than anyone, even God. I am so tremendously grateful that I have grown out of that. My church family is my safe space now. 

My “a-ha” moment was in the first video, learning that self is inherited from a community and that we are connected to someone from the moment we are born. I was recently in a book discussion with Sandhya Jha about their book Rebels, Despots, and Saints, which gives wonderful insight to our relationship with our ancestors. When I think of that combined with the thought that I am made up of the community around me, I can see how that gives me my identity and at the same time connects me to so much more.

I’m not sure that growing up there was a significant emphasis placed on the “communal” experience of faith in my life. My church mostly affirmed an individual relationship with God that did not compel much by way of the “faith of the community”. 

I’d like to connect Gomes sermon and the Burkhart reading with respect to the importance of being together. In many ways our faith is a shared tradition. Jesus’ ministry was lived out in the open, where people could not just hear what he said, but could see what he was doing.  In a similar way, we can engage in worship, service, and charity in ways that encourage and inspire each other and the broader community. Burkhart says that Jesus reminds us that there is an “interdependence in all things” (pg 50), therefore doing it alone is antithetical to God’s plan for us. I agree with Burkhart that we are stronger together. But I struggle with Burkhart’s admonition of people attending “the church of their choice”. In a way, aren’t we all doing that, otherwise we would all be Roman Catholic? At some point, doesn’t individual conscience compel a choice, whether to stay or go from a religious community? I don’t see that as selfish, I see it as integrity.

My “a-ha” moment came reading Luke 5. I always read this story as Jesus healing the man. But on this reading, along with reading Gomes, I recognized that Jesus forgave the man’s sins first. He did meet his physical needs, but addressed a deeper spiritual need first. They are connected. It makes me consider in what ways those two things are often disconnected when they are very much interconnected for Jesus.  

I grew up in a Disciples of Christ congregation, where my mother and several of her siblings, attended. My personal faith in God was nurtured by that community.

An early recollection, was my Pastor referencing Philippians 2:12, saying we were responsible for working out our own soul salvation. I grew up believing my faith was my responsibility, and because I was part of a community of believers, there was always help when I needed it.

According to Gomes, “Secondhand Religion” is the notion that religion is not original, but is “derived, inherited, passed on, and received.” There was always someone here ahead of you, proving by their actions what it means to have faith. Our CWF Book Study group is reading, “The Ruth Anointing,” by Michelle McClain-Walters. I can say that Ruth, obtained a “secondhand religion” from observing Naomi’s faith, and because of it, received the favor of God.

My older sister, Lynda,  inspired my faith. She taught me what it means to have strong faith. When I was 7 years old, Lynda set up an “altar” in our dining room. It was a desk with a tablecloth and a bible on it. It may have had some kind of framed picture on it too, but that’s not clear in my mind. What is clear however, is that when I did something wrong, she’d say, “Go to the altar.” I’d go and kneel and pray and ask God to forgive me, and I always believed he did.

I think Burkhart considers individualism to be demonic because God created us to be in community with one another for his glory. Focusing on oneself, is to take glory from God, which is why Satan was cast down. Gathering as community is an act of worship because God requires us to do it.

An “a ha” moment for me was to understand that individuality exists only in the context of community, as discussed in Prof. Torres’ introductory video.