For people today it is so judgemental, so negative, that many people feel that is not me - but all this church's prayers say that it is me. That doesn't feel right - so I will look somewhere else.
So they look for somewhere more positive. They are unlikely to find that in conventional Christianity. Christianity may dislike the post-modern "it feels right to me" message - but it is real for many (even most) modern people.
Christianity is obsessed with sin. Our traditional prayers and liturgies are full of it (or asking to be forgiven for sin). The current Catholic translation of the Lord's Prayer even has God leading us into temptation (and a plea that he please not do that!) I know - the Church doesn't officially teach that. But for many, that is the message.
In The Joy of the Gospel Pope Francis tells us that Christianity must not focus on obligations (or sin) - instead we should appear as people who wish to share their joy, who point to a horizon of beauty and who invite others to a delicious banquet. Before all else, the Gospel invited us to respond to the God of love who saves us, to see God in others, and to seek the good of others.
Not a lot about sin there!
But our obsession with our imperfections and unworthiness is one of the reasons many people do not feel comfortable in formal religion. It is one of the reasons they drop out of formal religion altogether, and often drop out of deliberate personal spiritual growth (because for many people the two go together), and just decide to live the best life they possibly can.
I understand that. I don't blame them. But my advice (if I were asked) would be to dig deeper and consider again.
Francis' sense of love and joy, and the insights of our chaplain Father Maurice Carmody changed the way I think about sin. Father Maurice explains that the word comes from the Greek hamartia which means to miss the mark - a metaphor from archery.
I find this a very helpful way to think about my faults: the ways I miss the mark in my life. AND - I have other arrows to shoot. I can shoot at the target again (and again).
Sometimes we do deliberately miss the mark - but mostly we miss because we forget to aim, or are bit lazy and don't account for the wind, or because we are sleepwalking through life, or because we have been caught up in what the world expects and are trying to live without God in our lives.
We miss the mark a lot - we all know we can do better. But somehow "missing" seems much less judgemental, less negative, and less permanent, than sin. I shot the arrow. I caused the miss. But I have a chance to put it right and learn from my error. My life is not defined by my initial poor aim.
Maybe that is what Jesus was thinking when he told the woman: Then neither do I condemn you, go now and do not miss the mark again. John 8:11
Somehow that seems a more Jesus-like way of seeing God in others, and re-viewing our stumbles on the journey.
I understand that. I don't blame them. But my advice (if I were asked) would be to dig deeper and consider again.
Francis' sense of love and joy, and the insights of our chaplain Father Maurice Carmody changed the way I think about sin. Father Maurice explains that the word comes from the Greek hamartia which means to miss the mark - a metaphor from archery.
I find this a very helpful way to think about my faults: the ways I miss the mark in my life. AND - I have other arrows to shoot. I can shoot at the target again (and again).
Sometimes we do deliberately miss the mark - but mostly we miss because we forget to aim, or are bit lazy and don't account for the wind, or because we are sleepwalking through life, or because we have been caught up in what the world expects and are trying to live without God in our lives.
We miss the mark a lot - we all know we can do better. But somehow "missing" seems much less judgemental, less negative, and less permanent, than sin. I shot the arrow. I caused the miss. But I have a chance to put it right and learn from my error. My life is not defined by my initial poor aim.
Maybe that is what Jesus was thinking when he told the woman: Then neither do I condemn you, go now and do not miss the mark again. John 8:11
Somehow that seems a more Jesus-like way of seeing God in others, and re-viewing our stumbles on the journey.
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