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Within
me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary
with holding it in, and I cannot.
(Jeremiah 20:9b, NRSV)
One Sunday a gang of surly adolescents burst in upon a congregation just as
the pastor was about to serve communion to his congregation located in a marginal
neighborhood in England. The youth stood before the pastor, and their leader
demanded: “Are you going to give us some of that?” While the congregation
looked on in horror, the pastor put down the bread, and responded: “ If
you look behind you, you will see a small group of people who are here
to do the most important thing in their lives [emphasis added]. I don’t
think this is the most important thing in
your life. I hope it may become so one day. But for now, I suggest you wait
outside until we’ve finished, and then we’ll have a chat about
what things are really important and how we learn how to do them.” And
they complied.
A
faith that does not touch our feelings and transform and ignite
our passions is neither a healthy nor a holistic faith.
Of course, we Mennonites would never put it this way, would we—that celebrating
the Lord’s Supper is the most important think we do in our lives? Yes,
it is important, but not the most important thing, which is one reason why
we do it less frequently than the liturgically-minded Christians. We’d
be more inclined to say that following Christ in all aspects of life is most
important. And, I’d like to think we are correct, as the Christian faith
is a lived faith. Christian faith cannot be reduced to ritual action—or
right beliefs or religious experiences, either.
An emphasis on the centrality and lordship of Christ is a Mennonite strength.
But strengths can also be weaknesses, especially when strengths aren’t
balanced with other considerations. Discipleship can tend to focus more on
what we do (follow Jesus), than what God in Christ has already done for us.
Understanding faith as following Jesus in everyday life can become a grit-your-teeth,
dogged determination to do the right thing, rather than a joy-filled response
to God's forgiving grace made possible by the Holy Spirit's enabling grace.
Such an understanding of faith can and does degenerate into joyless legalism
and judgmentalism.
Another missing element in some interpretations of discipleship is an affective
dimension—what some call “heart religion.” Thus, sometimes
Mennonites who long for a more emotional religious experience either have left
the Mennonite fold or borrowed spiritualities from other traditions like pietism,
Wesleyanism, revivalism, and the charismatic movement. The more recent emphasis
on contemplative spirituality has a similar appeal for many Mennonites with
its focus on the inward and affective dimensions of religious experience. To
be sure, faith is never merely an inward experience of the heart. Yet a faith
that does not touch our feelings and transform and ignite our passions is neither
a healthy nor a holistic faith.
Ironically, one of the charges against the Anabaptists was that they were enthusiasts;
their critics thought they were religious zealots who were too passionate about
their faith. An enthusiast is, literally, one who is possessed by God. She
can’t contain herself; she must express her “God possession” with
passion and exuberance. Those who, like the disciples on the Emmaus rode, walk
with the Risen Christ, cannot help being passionate about their experience.
With joy they worship (and follow) the Risen Christ (Luke 24:32, 52-3).
Richard A. Kauffman