Meeting 3 - Dynamism of Faith¶
Notes for the Animator¶
Today’s last meeting is a conversation about experiences we have had in our lives, based mainly on the animator’s experience. I proposed the example of mountains because it is closest to me. Of course, if someone does not share my opinion, they can use another one. It is important that it refers to a journey, no matter on what. Let’s also let the participants tell their own. Let them feel free to talk about their experiences - the essential part of this meeting is precisely listing experiences from our wanderings. Then we will try to look for analogies between faith and the road.
Goals¶
The goal of today’s meeting is to show the dynamics of faith, its variability. After this meeting, participants should know that doubts, breakdowns are normal, that they will happen to us throughout our lives.
Would That You Were Either Cold or Hot!¶
At the beginning, let’s consider a fragment from the Apocalypse of St. John. Let the participants, after reading it, express how they understand it.
And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen,the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!So, because you are lukewarm,and neither hot nor cold,I will spit you out of my mouth.—Rev 3:14-16
Let’s try together with the participants to characterize the attitudes listed in this fragment.
What does it mean to be cold or hot?
What does it mean to be lukewarm?
How can each of these attitudes be characterized?
Examples of Human Heat, Cold and Lukewarmness¶
Let’s confront our characteristics with examples of people. I list here the man from the Friday meeting and the Pharisees. You can of course use others. It is important that we do not judge too easily, but try to fit the term from the Apocalypse to the given situation.
Let’s recall the man from the story about the rabbi from the Friday meeting. This Enlightened man until the meeting with the teacher saw the world only in 2 colors. He was sure of his views, he rejected all questions that must have come to him, or passed over them to the agenda. How can the attitude of this man be defined? Was he cold, hot or maybe lukewarm? But the rabbi’s question stimulated him, made him notice new things that he had previously passed indifferently. How can his attitude be defined now?
Paul Tillich believed that the most important border does not run between those who consider themselves believers and those who consider themselves atheists, but between the group of those who are indifferent to the questions raised by faith – whether they are conventional atheists or conventional believers – and those who move these questions – whether they are believers for whom faith does not cease to be an “extraordinary adventure of searching”, or atheists who in one way or another “wrestle with God”.
—Fr. Tomasz Halik
A lukewarm man is precisely a man trying to hide his doubts, hiding his questions.
Why did Jesus “fight” with the Pharisees and scribes?
What was the main source of conflict?
The Pharisees hid all doubts, all questions behind the letter of the law. In their world, the only doubts were legal ones. The question about man was forgotten. Jesus speaks of a living faith, not ossified, hidden.
Novelties in Our Lives¶
In this point, feelings, own experiences and those of participants are most important. Let them tell how they felt then, what questions accompanied them then.
Everywhere we appear for the first time, every new contact with something new causes the loss of our current view, our safe place. Contact with something new makes new questions appear. Let’s recall our contacts with something new and share it.
For example, what did our first day at a new school look like, with new people, etc.
What did we feel then, what questions came to our mind?
What were we afraid of?
How do we look at these events now from the perspective of time?
Did our attitude to some problems change thanks to the new situation, did our idea on some subject change?
Hiking in the Mountains¶
This point, like the previous one, assumes the exchange of experiences between participants. As I wrote earlier, you can use another example. It is important to raise the topic of wandering.
Each of us has probably been to the mountains sometime. And probably everyone has had the opportunity to wander in them.
What does such an exemplary climb to the summit look like? Whether in the Beskids or in the Tatras.
What are its stages? What does the road itself look like?
Do we constantly walk at the same angle, with the same speed?
When we walk in the mountains, each new stage brings us new views of the area, of the further road. Interestingly (my personal experience - bt) usually the most beautiful views can be admired during the most difficult moments of climbing, when it is hardest for us. Only often we do not notice them. Maybe someone remembers some stage of a difficult climb from which an amazing view spread.
In addition to wonderful views, during the hardest moments of the hike, doubts, questions, fatigue come to us.
What questions come to our mind during the hike? (Let the participants propose a few examples. Below are my proposals.)
Will I manage to climb this hill?
Will there be a gentle road down? Is this the end of this elevation?
Will I make it to the end?
These doubts, questions accompany the road constantly. You can’t go through without them. You can’t eliminate them from the hike so easily. You can’t go even a piece of the road (especially unknown) without asking about the appearance of the path in a dozen or so meters, possible obstacles, etc.
Faith and Travel¶
In this point, let’s try to translate experiences from hikes into our spiritual life, into our faith. Let’s use feelings, questions, examples from previous points and try to look for analogies in faith. Below are conclusions from the comparison of the examples I listed above.
First of all, we must realize that faith looks different and is very diverse. You can’t say that you know your faith if you don’t go this way to the end.
Different are the mountains we climbed, some were low, some very high. Sometimes we walked a very steep path, sometimes it seemed to us that we were walking on “level”, and only after looking at the map we see that we were going uphill, sometimes we also go down lightly and pleasantly. During one trip, this change in difficulty and degree of inclination changes a dozen times. However, none of us is surprised by this. No one is surprised that it is uphill again when we climb, and when we go down it is downhill.
Is it similar in faith?
Are we surprised that it is “uphill” again when we climb?
Are we amazed that it is constantly NOT the same?
In faith, moments that are unattractive, painful, over time may seem most valuable to us.
Can we look at our unpleasant experiences on the spiritual path in this way?
Do we look for something valuable in such moments or maybe we try to erase them from memory right away?
And just like during a hike, we will encounter doubts in faith that will cause our path not to be so certain. Once again comparing with hiking in the mountains (or any other): didn’t it happen that forgetting about all signals from the outside, about how we are to go, we often lose our way? Wandering constantly requires vigilance from us. And how often does the question arise whether I haven’t lost the trail, whether it sometimes went a different way? Or when looking for a place in a city where we are for the first time, we constantly have to look at landmarks and answer questions like: is this the street? Or maybe further? Is this the store? Etc. Etc. Ignoring them, we very often get lost.
Faith assumes these constant questions, these doubts, swaying. Doubt is the sister of faith. Wanting to go the way of faith, we take doubts with us at the same time. Doubts cause us to be constantly vigilant, force us to make an effort. As the saying goes: “nothing revives faith so well, stimulates it, as a good heresy.” Because how much more vigilant will we be and more critically will we approach our decisions if we lose the trail and have to go back?
Let’s consider the text of Fr. Halik and his profession of faith. Let the participants express their opinions, their feelings about this fragment.
My faith is not unshakable – on the contrary: it constantly wobbles. […] It is shaken by reverence for the Mystery, shaken by shame before big words, without which I cannot do at the same time. It is shaken by dislike for formalism and cold professionalism of people with closed hearts and brains, shaken by fear of danger threatening from the “owners of truth”. It is shaken by the awareness of the infinite abyss between the inexpressibility of my thoughts and words. Doubt […] is rather an awareness of the problematic nature, insufficiency, conditioning and limited character of all human perception and expression of Reality, which radically transcends us. It is a fear that we might overlook this abyss that separates us from the hidden God, that – captivated by our own limited religious vision – on the one hand we might make ourselves an idol, a caricature of God, from our own religion, and on the other hand conceitedly condemn the various paths of religious search followed by others. Yes, above all this shakes my faith.
—Fr. Tomasz Halik
Faith that wants to be alive, that develops, must carry doubts with it. They serve so that we do not fall into self-admiration, so that we never be able to say: I already know everything about myself. Faith together with doubts puts us constantly in uncertainty, in a state of constant readiness, tension, vigilance. Doubts allow us to push away certainty, which is very deceptive in faith. Let’s recall the parable of the foolish and wise virgins, where too much certainty destroyed the foolish virgins. Or the scene of the Last Judgment, where the saved people are surprised by what happened.
Conclusion¶
In conclusion, I propose two poems for consideration during this last day. Independently, no longer on the group forum.
There is such a destiny,that what is not shaky in it, is unstable.There is such love,that the world ends where you want to put your foot[……………………………………………………………………….]There is such silence,that you must express it: and it is you, precisely you!—Vladimir Holan – Is
The last leaf trembles on the plane tree,because it knows well that what is without trembling, is powerless.[……………………………………………………………..]God, the leaf does not have to ask you for anything,you allowed it to grow and it did not murmur against it.But I….—Vladimir Holan – Last