I’ve recently read a story about a young priest currently working in Russia. He had become somewhat of a spiritual magnet as a result his first book, which is apparently now very popular in his country.
In his story, he said that he was brought up an atheist, typical of his generation in Russia. When he went to university, he was a serious academic, studying books of many great writers that might help him as an author. Of the many he read, some he admired deeply, but others he held in contempt. What began to stand out to him like a beacon of light was that every author he loved and admired believed in God or in some Divine force greater than himself. And the authors that he considered portrayed a somewhat dark and controlling portrait of life were all atheist. As he reviewed again and again the list of authors he greatly admired, those who had brilliantly contributed to humanity, he could not find one who was an atheist. But among those whose political philosophies required the diminishing of the souls of humanity as a means of acquiring control and accomplishing stability, there was no such thing as a belief in God.
As he walked the streets of Moscow, pondering this insight, he came upon an old Russian Orthodox church. He stood in front of it for an hour, terrified to walk in, but finally slipped in the back. From there he could see the church’s altar, and for the first time, all the religious icons that were so familiar to this Orthodox tradition. He said: “I just looked at the altar and felt something coming towards me and then into me. All I could say to myself was, “Oh my God": and I knew I would never leave.
As the story goes, he heard God call his name. He said “yes”, and their awakened in him a unique grace that directed him to do what he would never have considered doing before. He never before had an image of himself as a loving man, attending to thousands of people, or speaking to them about how to cope with the burdens of life, and how to hold their families together through difficult times. His old self did not see the people in this way. His old self only saw them as weak, broken, and useless. But now he saw them as his flock which he is called to tend with patience, love and compassion.
Today, growing dynamic communities of faith are usually described as having the quality of engagement. Engagement! What is it?
Engagement has to do with belonging, being part of the family of faith. Its focus is not so much on programs and activities. It has more to do with relationships.
Just as we need to be engaged with members of our family to build family, we also have to be engaged with people of faith in order to build faith communities.
What are the qualities of engagement? How would we describe an engaged person of faith?
As we explore this particular question, what becomes evident is that engaged people have, at some point, experienced something that have brought them to the conclusion that faith is important. The actual experience itself is very different from person to person. For some, it is what they experienced growing up in a family of faith. For others it is a weekend retreat experience. And for others, it is a person or persons of faith encountered at a certain point in their lives.
The common thread that flowed from each of these experiences is that something of value has been discovered, something worth investing in. Engaged people are willing to let go of other things in order to make their faith a priority.
When Jesus was describing the Kingdom of God, He referred to it as a treasure hidden in a field which brings joy; and for the one who discovers it, they are willing to sell off everything else in order to buy this field. This is the thread woven into each of the experiences of an engaged person.
What are some common characteristics of an engaged person? When we explore the characteristics, we discover these same qualities in an active, engaged and growing family.
The first characteristic is that an engaged person finds it necessary to spend private time in prayer with God. Families cannot be nourished or grow without some quality time of being together: Husbands with wives, parents with children. Engaged people of faith, cannot be nourished in their relationship with God without some discipline in prayer, time for being with God; not just saying prayers, but also reflective listening and being present.
The second characteristic is that an engaged person had a need to be involved in community worship. This is where they encounter Christ. For those whose faith is a way of life, then community worship was necessary, and it was not done out of obligation, but out of a desire to grow and to be nourished in a way of life.
The third characteristic is the need to be connected with other people of faith through something other than community worship. For the health and well being of family, there certainly is a need for those activities that lead to the connection among family members. A choice of faith as a life style also requires that one be a part of a small group of some sort to which they can make a connection. There is no consistency on what type of group this might be, but some kind of connection is necessary for a life of faith.
Fourthly, an engaged person also has to be involved in some way in the use of their talents, gifts and strengths in a service to others and to meet the needs of the community. Again, the places this might happen are varied, but engaged people see that some type of service, or a sharing of strengths, is necessary for a life of faith. In our families, we each have our part to play; we each have our responsibilities to make it a homogeneous unit. In a community of faith, it is no different.
And finally, as in family relationships, engaged persons all share the responsibility of supporting their community of faith through the sharing of their resources, not only to support the functioning of the community but to help those in need.
None of these things are original. When the disciples asked Jesus about what they must do, what is expected of them, He suggested that they practice the three pillars of piety: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. Most if not all of these five characteristics are contained in the principals of stewardship of time, talent and treasure.
In the Gospel of Matthew, a scribe asks Jesus a question: "What commandment is the greatest?” The answer: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all of your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.”
It is evident that, first of all, this must be a choice in a way of life. It is not something that can be imposed upon us from the outside. It must be something that is accepted and embraced. But why this choice? Why not choose to spend our time and our lives getting what we feel is fair for ourselves? I would like to suggest that the choice to love God and love neighbor, in other words, to choose a life of faith, has its own rewards.
The dysfunction we see in our society, the sufferings we see around us, is often the result of improper choices,--- choices where the basics of faith and faith experience are absent. This is what the Russian priest noticed in the writings of the many political philosophers that he examined, something that led him to the realization of the importance of bringing Christ into the choices he made.
What words can we use to describe that which flows from faith? The words that come to my mind are: wholeness, balance, fullness, completeness, a new vision, hope that sustains, and a joy of living what we know to be the truth of the Gospel. We become aware of a path that leads to life when we embrace our faith, and see Jesus as the way, truth and life to guide us. What Jesus says to the scribe applied equally to us as we embrace the answer that he gave: "When we love God, and love neighbor, we are not far from the Kingdom of God”.
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