The Spirituality of Our Religon

“The Spirituality of Our Religion”

Rev. Gusti Linnea Newquist

Psalm 104:24-30; Romans 8:14-17

So how many of you are familiar with the phrase “spiritual but not religious”?

How many of you would actually describe yourselves as “spiritual but not religious”?

It is a popular phrase of our time. Useful for many of us who find the institutional church to be outdated or oppressive or just plain irrelevant. And it is a fairly widespread sentiment. A Gallup poll in 2003 indicated that a full 33% of Americans would define ourselves as “spiritual but not religious.” And the numbers are only increasing.

Some scholars of religious history are going so far as to describe this “SBNR movement” as the next wave of Reformation in American Christianity. And I think it is true, on the whole. And I think it is a trend we should embrace, rather than reject. At least as far as it makes sense for us.

Because we at Madison Square are highly sympathetic to the “spiritual but not religious” sentiment, are we not? This is a church that prides itself on being “home for the homeless” in every way a person can be homeless. The pews at Madison Square—and even the pulpits, I might add—are filled with people who have found in this place a way to leave behind the trauma of “church hurt” we associate with negative religion. And hold on instead to a community of spiritual seekers who take us as we are and not who some “institutional church” thinks we are supposed to be.

You might even say Madison Square is a church of the “spiritual but not religious.” Especially on Pentecost, when we celebrate without holding back, the swooping, swooshing, swirling life of the Spirit. Ushering in a whole new way for a whole new day. With a little bit of chaos. And a whole lot of fun!

But of course we are an actual congregation. In an actual denomination. Within an actual tradition. We are still a religion. Right? And so the question is can we be spiritual and religious? Or spiritually religious? Or religiously spiritual? Or spiritual without being sappy. Or religious without being rigid? Or something better than the image we are trying to resist!

It may help to have a common definition of terms. So let’s start with the word “spiritual.” We have been discussing this in our adult education class in our book study on the Christian Spiritual Life. And I just shared a brief definition of spirituality with our children. Which is that the very basic bottom line basis of spirituality—in any tradition, but especially in the Christian tradition—is simply about our breath. The ruach in Hebrew. The pneuma in Greek. The spiritus in Latin. And if you’re into yoga the prana of our pranayama in Sanskrit.

In biblical terms this means that the ruach of God—or the Spirit of God—that forms humanity by breathing through the irrigated dust of the earth literally still flows through our bodies as we breathe in and breathe out. And that this ruach or spirit of God literally binds us with all of creation, as we in the animal kingdom breathe in oxygen from the exhale of the plant kingdom. And our inhale becomes the carbon dioxide we exhale, so that plants have something to inhale in return.

To put it bluntly, “If you are breathing, you are spiritual!” And since all of creation is breathing, all of creation is spiritual, including the countless creatures teeming through the vast expanse of the Sea celebrated by the psalmist in our Old Testament lesson for today.

Which means that spirituality isn’t something we do as individuals that makes us somehow unique or somehow more enlightened or somehow “not religious.” Spirituality is instead simply about paying attention to what is already happening in this breathing, pulsing, symbiotic union of creation that flows together in the fullness of “spirit,” whether we take the time to notice or not.

And it may sound strange in our 21^st century American religious culture, but it is in fact our spirituality that is more demanding of us than our religion! In this country, in this culture, by and large we have the freedom to choose our shared religion. But—if our definitions are true—we actually do not have the freedom to choose our shared spirituality. It simply is. Simply because we have a shared breath.

Which brings us to the definition of “religion.”  It comes from the Latin word religio. Which means “to bind.” And that may sound scary if we fear being bound to a religion of condemnation.

But our definition of spirituality tells us we are already bound to the whole of creation. By the union of our breath. Whether we want to be or not! It is the religion to which we are bound—at least for we who have a choice about it—that can actually be more liberating than our spirituality! It is more like deciding to make a covenant among people and within a tradition. It is more like saying we want to live together in common understanding about the practices of spirituality that inform how we live as a creation. A creation that is already bound together in the Spirit.

The “binding” of religion is actually not all that different than the commitment we make in a marriage.

Which happened here, just yesterday, as two beautiful young souls stood together in front of this font.

And joined their right hands. And offered their promises to bind themselves to one another in holy matrimony. For as long as they both shall live. And they symbolized their bond with wedding bands. And they wanted to be bound to one another! Because they had met their match. And it was very, very good . . .

Of course anyone who is married will tell you it gets harder, right? There are times you look at your partner and wonder what in the world you were thinking. You change together. You grow together. You struggle together. But if you keep paying attention to one another you can truly “go deep” together. And you can learn far more about yourself in the mirror of your marriage than you ever would have if you hadn’t “taken the plunge.”

This is the kind of bond we can share in our religion! Growing together. Changing together. Struggling together. Going deep together. And learning far more about ourselves in the mirror of our religious community than we ever would have if we were off on our own on our mountain meditating.

It is not always easy to be either spiritual or religious. We really do struggle with the people and the institutions and the traditions to which we are bound. Just like any married couple struggles. And let me just say as a side note that of course anyone with a conscience would want someone who was bound to an abusive religion—or an abusive marriage—to get out. But the truth may very well be that we learn more from wrestling with what binds us together than we do from breaking the bond altogether. And the truth is that the Spirit of God is still breathing through we who are creatures of the dust. And sprinkling us with the river of the water of life in our baptism. And continually re-creating a whole new body we call the church.

And being bound together in this religion of the Body of Christ can be wonderful!

We saw it just last week, when two beautiful mothers brought their child to this community and asked for the blessing of God upon her life. They said we want her to know in the depth of her bones that she is a child of God, as Paul tells the Romans in our New Testament lesson today. They chose to make this covenant on her behalf, here, in this religion, because they want their child to be bound to a people and a tradition that will fill her spirit with hope when a spirit of fear grips her tight. They want her to be bound to a people and a tradition that will welcome her home to be glorified with Christ when the suffering of the world threatens her joy. All things Paul wanted to share with the Romans to whom he was bound in the spirit of their religious covenant.

These mothers want their daughter to be bound to this community of faith! In a good way! By choice! Because they know that true companionship in this life can make all the difference. Which is what the best of religion is really all about.

Yes it may sometimes seem easier to be spiritual but not religious. Believe me, I know the struggle it is to bind yourself to an institution that can so often seem so far away from the kingdom of God we are called to proclaim. There are times that I too want to chuck it all and go meditate forever on the top of a mountain somewhere.

But like the mothers who brought their baby for baptism—and like all of you who are still coming here today—I just can’t stop finding the goodness of God in this gift of our religious community. And the Christian community Presbyterian Version is still the place I want to practice the spirituality that binds us to the fullness of creation. And on this fourth anniversary of my ordination to the ministry I can honestly say I am thrilled to be bound to both this spirituality and this religion. As wild and crazy and chaotic as it is has been and will continue to be!

And so I hope you will join me in the next few moments to say alleluia to God for the gift of the Spirit that makes us both spiritual and religious. And I hope you will take this time to renew your bond with the love of God that will not . . . ever . . . ever . . . ever . . . let you go. And to say alleluia again for the opportunity to bind ourselves together in this beloved community. And to ride the wave of that wily Spirit together. And to see how surprised we all can be by where the wind blows.

I pray it may be so. Amen.