faith sharing

When a small community meets for more than 30 years, the shared story of the community contains not only a broad range of joys and sorrows but also the conflict that is inevitably present in human interaction. Small Christian community members don’t escape from the universality of human difficulties and stresses, we hope instead that we respond to them with gospel values. What happens then when gospel values clash?

For many years, our small community was ecumenical. We happily welcomed a woman from another mainline Christian tradition and had insightful faith sharing based on the Bible as well as the lectionary readings. Eventually the woman married and she and her spouse continued with our small community as well as becoming members of a large mainline Christian congregation. We used to laugh at how we “cradle” Catholics approached our faith sharing immersed in Catholic tradition, sacramental life and minimal but growing knowledge of Scripture, while our Protestant couple had a grasp on the Scripture we all envied. Then, there were those of our community who had “converted” from another Protestant tradition and really stood in both worlds

Our community lived a pretty normal, mostly happy existence. We shared many difficult issues born out of the life experience of our members: illness, teen pregnancy, marriage troubles, issues with kids, job instability, divorce and death. We also had lots of joy as we prayed, laughed and celebrated life together. The conflicts we encountered, admittedly not always well-handled, sometimes shook the foundation of our small community but never cracked it. For the most part, we dealt with struggles by relying on a faith response first introduced to us by the priest who gathered our community in 1972 –What would Jesus do?

As the years went by, our mainline Protestant couple gravitated toward a newly- forming, evangelical, non-denominational church. They joined a bible-study group there but also continued as members of our small community. In the meantime, a growing awareness of Catholic social teaching began to be articulated by several members of our community. In the past our Protestant couple, though not necessarily understanding or agreeing, had been accepting of our Catholic tradition. Now, Scripture passages like do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father in heaven (Matt. 23: 8) on the one hand, and he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor and liberty to captives (Luke 4:18) on the other hand, were grounds for serious differences of opinion. Our faith sharing was leading to a growing division in the community. The tension in the air was, at times, palpable.

It became clear our community was in trouble and we needed help finding some common ground while maintaining our love and respect for one another. One member of our community designed a questionnaire for each member to fill out that encouraged us to examine the experience of our small community as church in respect to prayer, community, ongoing learning and mission. It was an enlightening exercise that helped members to clarify our expectations of the community. The results were compiled and a copy sent to each SCC member. The non-Catholic couple was clearly in favor of a small group that relied heavily on a literal interpretation of Scripture. Some members of the community sought a focus on a more privatized expression of faith while others were desirous of deepening an experience of faith that impacted beyond family and parish.

Not long after we discussed the results of the questionnaire, the non-Catholic couple sent each of us a letter in which they graciously explained their decision to withdraw from the community. The couple attended our next gathering and we had a goodbye party and a missioning ceremony for them. Was the process and parting difficult? Yes. Was it necessary? Yes. The couple was happy with their decision and became deeply involved with their new church. We have continued to have a loving social relationship with them.

Our small community continues to share faith now rooted in an ever-growing awareness of Jesus’ preferential option for the poor. Our prayer life continues to deepen, our ongoing learning challenges our conceptions of how life is. Our community story, woven from our individual stories, still contains the universal human story of joys and struggles. Several years have passed since that very difficult time in the life of our community. Other members have left the community and new folks have joined us, and we still ask the question, What would Jesus do? We have discovered—and this is growth in wisdom—that the question is not easily answered.

Faith Sharing Printable Copy
Finding Common Ground Amid Diversity
By Barbara Howard

I was privileged to visit with a small church community whose membership is all women. Some of them have been together for several years and some have just joined the community. As we settled in on a cold, snowy, Colorado Wednesday evening, the women greeted each other warmly and began a review of the week since they had last seen one another. Along with sharing the personal experiences of their week, the women candidly spoke about current events prominent on the nightly newscast or in the daily paper. Most of those events had their roots in the “prohibited” topics of politics and religion. I was interested to see where the discussion might lead.

It was clear that there were differing viewpoints on specific events and issues. But, there was honest and respectful dialogue among the women as they acknowledged the unmistakable tension between much of contemporary life and the message of the Gospel. They were able to make connections between faith and life in real, tangible ways. At the end of their evening they all agreed they wanted to bring items for the backpacks for prisoners reentering society (a larger, parish project) even though, not surprisingly, they had diverse opinions about the penal system.

As I reflect on that gathering, it strikes me that one of the richest blessings of belonging to a small community is the possibility for us to find common ground while still being respectful of the diversity of opinion that exists among us. The possibility can only be realized, however, when members are open to honest conversation – speaking without the need to convince and listening without the need to rebut. That is what faith sharing is all about. It takes lots of practice to put our opinions and biases aside and really listen to one another. The touchy part is that faith does not exist disengaged from the circumstances of ordinary life, including politics and religion.

reprinted with permission from the newsletter of Spirit of Christ Small Church Communities, Arvada, CO

Opening prayer: Light a candle and recite the following prayer to open your faith sharing session: “Jesus, you came to us as human to invite all men and woman to recognize our sacredness. In recognizing our sacredness we learn to love our human-ness. Thank you, Jesus.”

The following is taken from the address by Archbishop Francois-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan given during Encuentro 2000. During 13 years of imprisonment, 9 of them in solitary confinement, the bishop admitted that he experienced utter despair and could not pray… “but in the utter deprivation of prison, all outer trappings fell away and I met Jesus in the total transparency of the Gospel”.

My dear friends, I am sharing a very personal secret with you. I met the living Jesus; he fascinated me. I followed him – because I love the defects of Jesus. I could name at least 10 of them, but I shall tell you about only five.

First Defect: Jesus Does Not Have a Good Memory
During his agony on the cross, Jesus heard the voice of the thief at his right side: “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 43:42) If it had been me, I would have answered him: “I won’t forget you but you must pay for your crimes by spending some 20 years in purgatory.”

On the contrary, Jesus said, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” Jesus forgot all about his sins. As for Mary Magdalene, Jesus never questioned her about her scandalous past life. He simply said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven you because you loved so much.”

When the father sees his prodigal son coming home, he runs to meet him, embraces him and does not even give him time to pronounce the little speech he had prepared. He calls the servants and says, “Kill the fatted calf to feast my son. My dead son has returned to life…” Jesus doesn’t have a memory like mine. Not only does he forgive, he forgives everything.

Second Defect: Jesus is Not Good at Mathematics
If Jesus took a math examination he would surely fail. A shepherd had 100 sheep; one of them strayed. Without thinking, the shepherd went in search of it, leaving the other 99 sheep. When he found the lost sheep he put it on his shoulders (Luke 15: 4-5) For Jesus, 1 equals 99, perhaps even more. Who can accept this? When it comes to saving lost sheep, nothing can stop Jesus, not risk, fatigue, danger.

Third Defect: Jesus Knows Nothing About Logic
One night a woman who had 10 drachmas lost one of them so she lit a lamp to search for it. When she found it, she invited her neighbors in and told them, “Rejoice with me because I found the drachma which I had lost.” (Luke 15:9) It is truly illogical to spend the night searching for one drachma and then to have a feast in the middle of the night to celebrate having found it. What is more, in inviting her friends to celebrate with her, she spent more than one drachma. For Jesus, the search for a lost one has priority. He cannot lose a minute. Jesus revealed the secret of his heard: “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Fourth Defect: Jesus Is an Adventurer
A person in charge of publicity for a company or a politician seeking election prepares a very precise program with many promises. Jesus promises only trials and persecutions to those who follow him. He warns them that “The Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20)

In sending his disciples out on a mission Jesus tells them to “take nothing for the journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money and only one tunic.” (Luke 9:3) He also tells them they will be blessed “when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account, rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven.” (Matthew 5:11-12) In this state of absolute poverty where did Jesus send his disciples? How far were they to go? They were to bring salvation “even to the ends of the very earth.” (Acts 13:47). But the disciples had confidence in this adventurer and in his word: “I am with you every day, even to the end of the world”. We are truly disciples of Jesus when we follow him even to the end of the world. We are members of his association of adventurers, without address, without telephone number, without a fax or web site.

Fifth Defect: Jesus Knows Nothing About Finances and Economy
If Jesus were named steward of a community or manager of an enterprise those institutions would go bankrupt because he would pay the same salary to the one who started working in the morning and to the one who began in the afternoon. Would he have made a mistake? Did he calculate incorrectly? No, he would do it on purpose. “Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last as I give to you…do you begrudge my generosity? (Matthew 20: 15 – 15)

Do you wonder why Jesus has these defects? Because He is love. (1John 4:16) Authentic love does not reason, does not calculate, does not measure, does not put up barriers, does not lay down conditions, does not set up boundaries and does not remember offences committed.

I love these defects of Jesus and 1 John 4:16 has become a key for me. It is not enough to love God with all my heart, I must also act accordingly and sum everything up in one simple, dynamic concept. One rainy day in my prison cell, all of a sudden something like a bolt of lightening flooded my mind. Jesus is “my God and my all”: Deus meus et omnia. We love everyone and all things in Jesus. This is the best discernment. (1 Corinthians 12: 10)

Faith Sharing Questions to ponder individually or to use in small group faith sharing with “Defects of Jesus”:

Think of a time in your life when you have benefited from someone else’s poor memory about your actions.
What circumstances make it hard for you to put aside the memory of others’ faults.

Can you think of some examples in which you have been so interested in counting and keeping score that you missed an opportunity to take the high road?
Are you aware of any decisions in our society in which “simple mathematics” hurts certain individuals?

Tell about something you value that others might not consider important.
Think about a value in our society that disturbs you.

Recall a time you’ve taken risks that turned out well.
What kind of risks present themselves to Christians in the U.S. today?

Tell about a situation you have experienced that reminds you of the parable of the laborers in the vineyard.
If Jesus were the human resource manager in our country today how do you think he would change the way wages are determined?

Closing prayer: After a few moments of quiet meditation each person may want to share an insight gained during this session and one plan of action realized as a result of this session. Close with the Lord’s Prayer.