Faith Journey Puzzle Pieces Beginning To Fit

You know how a piece in a jigsaw puzzle suddenly pops into place even though it seems you’ve tried it there before and it wouldn’t work? That’s how my faith journey seems to be going right now – a piece here and there over the last few years and a dramatic acceleration of “fits” lately.

I think it’s not a coincidence that this speeding up of “fits” has occurred after we began attending a wonderful nearby Lutheran Church a few months ago (see my Dec 20, 2005 post).

There is a surprising irony here, because as a kid, I first became acquainted with Christian thought and the church while my parents belonged to a Lutheran church in post-WWII Chicago. My faith journey has taken many twists and turns since then, but it now has the remarkable proclivity to come full circle.

After 40+ years of meandering in “evangelicalism” (for lack of a more precise word), my wife and I are unexpectedly putting puzzle pieces into place of late. And it’s becoming increasingly clear that the catalyst is our connection with this church.

I want to be clear, however, on one point. These emerging distinctions on our faith journey are less likely due to Lutheranism, per se, than they are to noticing fresh, enlightening meaning to mainline denominational worship.

There are many reasons for this, not the least of which is that here I’m discovering the links to the traditions, liturgies and creeds of the ancient church that I felt were virtually absent in our previous venue.

I’ll try to shed some light with just a smattering of my nagging queries. Why, for instance, is there not more liturgy in evangelical churches? Do evangelicals not think liturgy is important, notwithstanding that the historical church has been immersed in liturgy since the beginning?

What has happened to the singing of the great hymns of the church written by the likes of Luther and Wesley? Does repeating the same incessant “praise” chorus ten or twenty times have anything to do with meaningful worship?

What IS worship? Is it singing choruses from a silver screen, a scripture verse, an entertaining drama and a three-part "Power Point" projected sermon? Or should worship be an important, reverent, meaningful, enriching adoration of an almighty God? And what about the meaning and practice of the sacraments that are so drastically rationed in evangelical milieus? I could go on and on…..

I guess at the core of all this is the fact that I always was wondering, in “evangelicalism”, why things were the way they were – and found a consistent, historical rationale to be lacking. In contrast, my faith journey puzzle pieces are now beginning to fit together more meaningfully as I learn and re-learn the value and importance of these timeless foundational creeds, liturgies and traditions.

They certainly do not seem to be the “vain repetitions” as was suggested in the previous venue. For me, they are becoming rich, fathomless and expressive elucidations of the faith.

My faith journey has taken on new life and new energy.