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2. Why should I become a part of a faith community? When I was a pastor in South Dakota a few years ago, one of my parishioners invited me to his farm to witness the birth of a new calf. Since I had always lived in a city, this was an experience I had never had before, and it was a wonderful experience. When the calf was born, the mother kept bumping it and snorting at it and nudging at it. She was encouraging it to get up and stand on its own so it could nurse and live. She was passing on the knowledge of how to live and get along in life. The little calf eventually, through her encouragement, was able to struggle to its feet and live. The Native American people of the Dakotas have a deep understanding that the wisdom about how to live and get along in life comes to us from others: through the community. There is a game they play, which is really a ritual as much as a game, called "Throwing the Ball." An altar is prepared, and a special ball is made out of a buffalo hide. A girl is chosen to throw the ball, and after special preparations, she faces each of the four directions in turn and throws the ball to the people. The holy man explains that the ball represents the wisdom of how to get along and live well. Whoever struggles and catches the ball receives a great blessing. The blessing is from the Great Spirit who watches over all the people and is the source of the wisdom that comes to the community which then passes it on to each of its members. The Wisdom of our Christian faith, that Jesus Christ is able to save us ultimately from our struggles, is not something we discover all by ourselves or invent to suit what we perceive our needs to be. The community of the church is the repository of the Wisdom we need to get along and live well in the world, and the community of the church is the chief means through which God teaches us that our struggles are not in vain. The community of faith speaks a special language that is not spoken elsewhere and does special things that are not done elsewhere that communicate this Wisdom to us. The Wisdom of the Gospel cannot come merely from a book or from our own investigations. We must "struggle together" to understand the gospel. God helps us in our struggles because it is God's intention for us to get along and live well and spend eternity with Him. |
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