“Journey with Jesus” based on Psalm 133 and John…

Have
you ever thought about what it would be like to journey with Jesus?
I’m not actually talking about spiritual metaphor here, I suspect if
I was many people could openly say, “Yes, that’s my life!”  I
mean, what it was like for the first followers of Jesus to journey
around Galilee and later Judah with the historical Jesus.

Being
a part of the 21^st century, my capacity for 1^st
century historical accuracy is lacking, so I’m sometimes hesitant to
to project myself into those experiences.  Nevertheless, it feels
like I can’t enter into this story of “Doubting Thomas” without
letting my questions about journeying with Jesus come front and
center.

I
wonder how often those first followers were uncomfortable, especially
in the face of Jesus’ teaching.  This is likely projection on my
part, a reflection of how challenged I am by what he taught.  “Love
your enemy,” “give to anyone who asks of you,” “everyone is
your neighbor,” and  “love your neighbor as you love yourself”
are all important, profound teachings.  They’re also ones I fail to
live up to every day.  Did the disciples squirm like I do?  Or is it
that I come from a position of relative power and wealth that leads
me to squirm, and those who followed him more often had nothing and
could more easily accept his teaching?

What
about the parables?  Even the Jesus Seminar believes that Jesus
probably taught in parables.  The thing about parables is that
they’re lessons that keep on giving.  Every time you think about
them, you can see something new.  They grow with you.  This is,
obviously, amazing as a teaching tool.  But was it hard, as a first
follower, to be stretched and grown every day?  Did it feel like
drinking from a fire hose?  Did they ever feel like they got it, they
knew what he was up to, they were following along?

I
wonder too about the pace of life for those first followers.  The
gospel writer of Mark likes the word “immediately” and seems to
tell a rapid fire story.  But that just means he skips the quiet,
slow parts.  Did they linger of meals, talking and laughing?  Or was
everything GO-GO-GO like in the midst of an advocacy campaign with a
legislative deadline?  I suspect it was the former.  I don’t think
you actually build a movement that lasts unless you work at the pace
of human trust, and that pace requires a lot of talking, laughing,
story telling, meaning making, and even sitting around the fire in
quiet wonder.  

Some
of my questions really add up to, what kind of spiritual development
happened to those who were following Jesus?  The first followers were
members of a powerful faith tradition already, one that Jesus was
using and drawing from.  They were also, mostly, disenfranchised
people without any reason to have faith or trust in the systems of
the day.  They were marginalized people.  (And that’s where I have to
be so careful to pay attention to the fact that I am not one, and not
to project myself more than I should.)  In some ways, marginalized
people have an advantage in seeing what God is up to in the world,
because God is always up to upsetting the status quo to allow more
people to thrive AND survive and that is GOOD NEWS for the
marginalized people but threatening for those who are not.

And
they were spending all their time with Jesus, and with each other,
and that feels like the very best set up for rapid faith development.
Jesus was deeply connected with the Divine, likely a mystic, and
ready and able to put the needs of others before his own.  In my
life, people like that have taught me SO much, and I’d imagine being
with Jesus for a year would change EVERYTHING.

I’m
wondering this because of the easy way with which Thomas is able to
express his doubt to his fellow disciples.  This is an expression of
a rather well developed faith.  I want to consider a few “stages of
faith development” according to James Fowler, and wonder about
where the disciples were with those.  Yet, I want to be a little bit
careful. It can be really easy to hear about stages like these and
try to characterize one’s self as HIGH as one can, as well as to
deride others for being in LOWER stages.  That is NOT the point.  In
fact, I suspect that most of us move around between stages based on
the level of stress we’re under, the strength of the teaching we’d
received on any given topic, the level of stress around us, and the
number of other things we’re trying to do at the same time. God is
with people wherever we are, and while we do want to “develop” as
people of faith, part of that development is making peace with the
honesty of where we are and being peaceable about where others are –
without judgement.  This is also to say that if you feel like you’ve
moved backward over the past, say 15 months, then have grace with
yourself – that means you’ve been under unsustainable stress.

The
least developed “adult faith”¹
is one that easily yields to authority and quietly pushes away any
conflicts in faith in order to minimize the threat to faith.  To help
grasp the stages, I think it may be instructive to see how the Psalm
might be heard from within this stage.  The Psalm’s opening verse,
“How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in
unity!” can be heard as an encouragement to keep the peace, quiet
one’s own questions, and silence the concerns of those who raise
issues – in the name of “unity.”  Unfortunately, this
understanding of unity has the impact of silencing people who are
marginalized and preventing growth.  Yet, it is easy to see how it
can be heard that way, right? “How very good and pleasant it is
when kindred live together in unity!”  So— be quiet about issues
and experience the good and pleasant!!  Thomas is well past this
stage when he easily, immediately, questions the statement of TEN of
his friends and faith companions.  

The
next level of “adult faith”²
is characterized by angst and struggle as the person takes
responsibility for their own faith, instead of just following
blindly.  In this stage is greater nuance, greater open-mindedness,
and more potential conflict.  How might people in this stage hear,
“How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in
unity!”?  I wonder if the word “unity” becomes more complicated
here, or if “kindred” are subdivided.  Is this a place where the
unity of the kindred reflects similar thinking groups, but there are
several different areas of unity?  Does challenging authority become
a means of separation?  (There are many other possible answers.)  It
is clear that Thomas is AT LEAST at this stage, as he speaks his own
truth clearly.  He stands in his own integrity whether anyone is with
him or not, although it is worth pointing out that he remains with
the whole, and that might suggest that this sort of unity is large
enough for everyone’s integrity.

The
next level of “adult faith” seems like the one all of the
disciples were in the midst of transitioning into after the death of
Jesus.  It generally comes after a significant crisis, and James
Fowler calls this “Conjunctive Faith.”  This is faith that can
handle paradoxes and mystery, and let go of pieces of tradition or
faith from prior stages that don’t work anymore.  It is a stage and a
space where multiple truths can be held simultaneously, without
conflict.  So how might, “How very good and pleasant it is when
kindred live together in unity!” be heard here?  Perhaps this is
when “unity” becomes about seeking each other’s well-being
regardless of differences of perspective or differences of need.
Unity doesn’t require similarity, only love, and love flows from God.

I
cannot tell for sure if Thomas or the rest where in this stage yet.
I think most likely they were growing into it, and this is a story
about that transition.  This is, after all, a story remembering that
different people have different experiences and rather than all the
value going to the ones with greater experience, there is an
acknowledged blessing of those who follow without the experiences.
This is a story that anticipates us – the ones who did not
experience the first resurrection first hand, and yet celebrate it.  

There
is, for Fowler, a rare final stage of adult faith development, one
neither this story nor most people of faith reach.  I suspect that
most of the disciples reached it by the end of their lives, and I
further suspect it is what John Wesley was talking about when he
suggested that people could reach perfection in living God’s love
during their lifetimes.  I think that people in that stage would
hear, “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together
in unity!” and immediately grasp that “kindred” is universal
and “unity” comes when all the people have the peace that comes
after the needs of justice are met.

Was
it because the disciples had time with Jesus that they reached the
final stage?  Or was it because they lost Jesus and had to find the
ways to go on that they did?  Or both?  Or neither?  It is
unknowable.

As
United Methodists, we are taught about that idea of reaching
perfection in living God’s love during our lifetimes.  It is most
often called “going on to perfection” and most frequently it
serves to make me sad when I realize how far I am from that goal.
Yet, when I slow down enough to listen to the voice of God, I hear
God saying that I don’t have to be there yet, God hasn’t asked that
of me.  Rather, God says, I’m asked to be where I am, and be open to
the next means of grace that will help me walk along my journey.
And, that seems fair, because God is a just God, and God doesn’t ask
more of us than we can give, and what we can give is based on who we
are today and where we are on our faith journey.

Which
means, really that I’m back to the metaphorical journey with Jesus,
and am encouraging you to think about how your journey is going, and
what the next steps are, and to check to see if you need any help
along the way.  I can think of no clearer role for the church than to
help each other as we move along our journeys with Jesus.  Or, in
other words, we help each other move onto perfect.  May God help us
all!!  Amen

1James
W. Fowler Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development
and the Quest for Meaning (San
Francisco: Harper&Row, 1981).  Fowler’s stage 3:
Synthetic-Conventional”
Faith.  Summary found at
https://www.institute4learning.com/2020/06/12/the-stages-of-faith-according-to-james-w-fowler/
(I have and love the book, but thank God for other people’s
thoughtful work.)

2 Fowler’s
stage 4: “Individuative-Reflective
Faith”

Rev. Sara E. Baron
First United Methodist Church of Schenectady
603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305
Pronouns: she/her/hers
http://fumcschenectady.org/
https://www.facebook.com/FUMCSchenectady

April 11, 2021