Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Awakening to the Mystical Side of Faith {Reflections}
What happens when a search for meaning takes you through atheism, Buddhism, and even witchcraft, only to find resonance in an unexpected place? Paul Kingsnorth shares his remarkable spiritual journey with us, highlighting the stark contrasts between his youthful experiences of Christianity in the Church of England and the less traditional approaches by trend-seeking vicars. His story is a testament to the profound, universal yearning for a faith that transcends the superficial, urging us to explore the mystical and transcendent elements often overshadowed by modern cultural relevance. Kingsnorth invites us to reflect on the essence of spirituality and what it means to truly connect with the divine.
Join us as we uncover how Kingsnorth's exploration of different belief systems ultimately led him to the awe-inspiring aspects of Christianity that fulfilled his search for deeper meaning. This episode of Reflections encourages listeners to open their eyes, hearts, and ears to the wonder of faith that elevates the soul beyond the mundane. Whether you're intrigued by personal transformation or the quest for spiritual depth, consider sharing Paul Kingsnorth's inspiring narrative with friends who might also be seeking their own connection to the otherworldly.
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What is up everybody? Hey, welcome to our Reflections podcast. I was just told by Mike that this is episode number 71. We're like, hey, we got to do something incredible for episode 100. So something off the chain? Do folks still say off the chain? I don't know, but just bananas. So keep your eyes and ears open. It won't be for a few months yet, but episode 100 coming. But I wanted to tell you about this great article I just read over the Christmas break and here's the title of the article and I'm going to open with a long quote from it. So buckle up. But the title is called the Cross and the Machine. Now here's the subtitle. I love a good subtitle. Here it is After years of atheism, I went searching for the truth.
Speaker 1:I found Buddhism, then witchcraft and eventually Christianity. I love that. And his name is Paul Kingsnorth and he talks about his search for something deep and meaningful in his life and, as he mentions, he starts with atheism and in there his intellectual side was kind of appeased and he liked that, but it was missing the mystery and the depth and the meaning of something else. And so he leaves atheism and he goes and finds Buddhism and then witchcraft and then eventually he kind of lands in Christianity Because in Christianity he finds this deeply resonant divine mystery, this transcendent that's connected to the whole world and himself, and he, like, falls in love. And the odd thing is he grows up in the Christian faith. He leaves it as a young boy, but he grows up in this expression of Christianity and he's English, so he grows up in this English version of it that he doesn't like, that doesn't speak to him at all. But here's how he opens the article. I love this, this is really good. So he says back then, when I was a kid, there were two distinct flavors of Christianity. And he's explaining a bit why he leaves it early on, as a young boy. But the part I want you to notice is at the end of this quote.
Speaker 1:But he says back then there were two flavors of Christianity, both of which I tried to avoid. One was the fusty old Church of England variety. You would see this if you had to go to a wedding or a funeral or when a vicar which is like a priest or a pastor was invited to give a sermon at school. The vicar would be slightly Victorian figure, an older man, almost dainty in his manners, trying to speak his best in a dying tongue to a generation of kids more interested in their ZX spectrums, which is like a mobile computer back in the day, and the Victorian vicar would hand out morality lessons from a man who lived 2,000 years ago and whose core imagery might as well have been from Mars Wine presses and fishing boats and vineyards, masters and servants and virgins, in other words, this old Victorian sort of style vicar would come in in his dusty old mannerisms and speaking and vernacular and didn't connect with anybody. And these kids were more interested in their electronics and sport than they were with what the things he had to say from this gone-by era. That was the first flavor of Christianity.
Speaker 1:The second flavor was what he called the trendy vicar or the trendy pastor. Maybe you've heard of this guy or woman. The trendy vicar was plugged into the spirit of the age. He was on our side. He writes the trendy vicar had a clipped beard, wore jeans and sang folk songs about how Jesus was our friend and gave awkward vernacular sermons in which biblical stories were interspersed with references to EastEnders, which is, I guess, an English show back in the 80s and 90s, or Dallas or Michael Jackson songs. Again, this is dated but despite his good intentions, the trendy vicar was much worse than the stuffy vicar. So he says, hey, the first vicar was this old, fusty, dusty, you know Victorian era kind of vicar. The second one was a trendy vicar, but he says this guy was even worse. He came in there with his trendy folk songs and references to Dallas or Michael Jackson and despite his good intentions he was much worse. And here's why At least the Victorian sermons were in some way otherworldly, as religion should be, because he's going on a search for something deep and meaningful and something that speaks to the divine, to this engagement with this transcendent being called God.
Speaker 1:And I find that man and I'm not here to critique other churches, but a lot of churches or even Christians, are trying so hard to be relevant and I get it Even in my own sermons. I want to speak in a way that makes sense to people and use modern references. But what's the expense sometimes I wonder. I mean many people don't need more trends or more I don't know hip sermons or hip pastors. Many times what people really need is another world, they need an otherworldly kind of message or experience and they need to be kind of hooked back into the transcendent and I'm afraid that sometimes many of our modern churches, or even Christians, just try so hard to be relevant, they lose the mystical, the magical, the connection with the deeper or the transcendent, the divine.
Speaker 1:It reminds me of the story I think I might have told on here before. I can't remember, but this Buddhist man was next door, lived next door to a Christian, and the Christian invites the Buddhist to go to church with him and the Buddhist said yeah for sure, and he goes and hangs out and they have a church gathering and they leave and afterwards the Christian says to the Buddhist hey, what'd you think? And the Buddhist was like man, it was decent, but I don't know how you guys ever hear from God with all the talking you do in there. Oh, man, and it's like, yeah, I think sometimes we try to fill the space in our religious gatherings or our Christian gatherings or worship services with so many things and maybe even modern day trendy, you know, elements that we're missing something. We're missing that otherworldly Christianity, the connection to something deeper, to listening to the divine, to experiencing the divine and the transcendent, and we live in a culture that by and large has been disconnected in the Western world, I'll say anyway, from the transcendent. We favor materialism and scientific data and these kinds of things, and so we've sort of already edged out things like mystery and awe and wonder and God. But I think at the same time people long for other worldly kinds of connections and I think ser. The same time people long for other worldly kinds of connections and I think sermons like that or sacramental gatherings that have things like communion and baptism and prayer and listening for God, those things can speak to this desire in us to connect with the divine. I think we've lost this sense of wonder and awe, especially in our faith.
Speaker 1:Perhaps there's this great quote by Abraham Joshua Heschel and this is a bit longer too, but bear with me. He says this. He says the meaning of awe is to realize that life takes place under wide horizons, horizons that range beyond the span of an individual life or even the life of a nation, a generation or an era. That life I'm adding my own bit here, but life is sort of it sort of stretches beyond just an individual moment or a person or a lifetime. It's like this incredibly wide thing. He goes on to say awe enables us to perceive in the world intimations or hints or shadows of the divine, to sense in small things the beginning of infinite significance. You ever had something small. You're like man. There's something beautifully deep and profound and significant in this small thing, I don't know, like a piece of bread and some wine or water. He goes on to say to sense the ultimate in the common and the simple and to feel, in the rush of the passing, the stillness of the eternal. And I love that.
Speaker 1:I was at a lecture one time at Harvard and this rabbi, this Jewish rabbi, said to close his whole lecture, he said, hey, what do people of faith have to offer in a post-Darwinian culture?
Speaker 1:And everyone kind of leaned in and on the edge of their seats and he said I think it's this that in a post-Darwinian culture we people of faith can offer awe, oh my gosh, that's it. Like people don't need another pep talk or self-help book or TED talk. Those are all good things, but people need something deeper. They need connection, experience of the divine, of the Father who chases them down and forgives them and gives them hope in a new world, in a new future. They need an otherworldly kind of faith, and by this I don't mean disconnection from this world or like escapism from this world and its problems.
Speaker 1:A faith that they say is so heavenly minded it's no earthly good. I don't mean that. I mean one that can see above the fray, one that has deep base notes you know, in a world full of treble notes, one that's deeply rooted in mystery and power and the divine and the transcendent. That's what we need. I think I, like this author, long for people who have this connection to an otherworldly kind of faith, because that's what I long for in the deepest parts of my being. So check out this article it's incredible by Paul Kingsnorth and his journey from atheism to Buddhism, to witchcraft to, eventually, christianity. It's a wonderful story and today may you have your eyes open and your heart and your ears open, and may you be filled with the wonder and awe of God today. Amen.
Speaker 2:Hey, if you enjoy this show, I'd love to have you share it with some friends. And don't forget, you are always welcome to join us in person at Central in Elk River at 830, which is our liturgical gathering, or at 10 o'clock, our modern gathering, or you can check us out online at clcelkriverorg Peace.
