In his column, a priest university professor reminds the readers of the Catholic Peace Weekly that our faith life is a life of charm and fascination. This is not the way religious life is described but we are followers of Jesus— is there anyone in the history of the world who had a more fascinating and attractive life?
It's been quite some time since the crisis of COVID-19 has passed but the columnist still feels we have a long way to go to return to pre-Covid days. One is accustomed to not going to church or no longer having the opportunity to go. However, it seems to him that more people are skeptical of their faith than before. This may be due to the negative perception of religion in the social and cultural atmosphere of the 'postmodern' era, although the COVID-19 crisis also helped.
In fact, people leave the church because they are not attracted to it. If you ask teenagers why they stopped going to church they answer: "Because it's not fun." They did not feel joy or attractiveness in faith. For them, the church did not have the values of freedom, equality, dialogue, and communication, which are the values of this era, it is often seen as stuffy, boring, and forced on us by duty.
But is faith really as stuffy and old-fashioned, as many believe? When you look at the life that Jesus lived you can see that it was never like that. It was not Jesus who imposed commands and forced faith like a heavy burden, but the Pharisees and the scribes of that time.
Jesus invited us to a life of joy living as a child of God, free from the heavy burden of detailed law provisions of that era. Those who met him experienced life as a festival and felt the joy of living as a child of God. Perhaps the negative preconceived notions of faith are often created by ourselves. Have we insisted on our own religious life that has nothing to do with Jesus' life and lived our faith life as a burden, and not joy, and taught it to our children and others in this manner?
We need to remember the words of Archbishop Joseph Doré of France: "We must now break with the notion that believing in God is an obligation imposed and the acceptance of abandonment of all. For those who believe in God whom Jesus revealed and gave flesh, faith is not a senseless act or concern added to life, but light, strength, happiness, and grace" ("Jesus for All").
Pope Francis also emphasizes the "charm" of faith. ("Joy of the Gospel", paragraph 14) "All of them have a right to receive the Gospel. Christians have the duty to proclaim the Gospel without excluding anyone. Instead of seeming to impose new obligations, they 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."
Faith, as some people believe, is never a belief in heavy, old-fashioned, outdated superstitions and teachings. Rather, faith is full of charm, joy, and a source of new life for those who follow Christ. They live in the world with the people of the world, but they live a different life. We are children of God, not bound by the world, and live freely dreaming of heaven. You can live richly even if you don't have anything, and you can live with ease of mind even with concern for those whose life is more difficult than our own.
Jesus was a charming man. Our religious ancestors were also fascinated by Jesus and his gospel, they wanted to protect their faith even by giving up their lives despite the threat of persecution. Shouldn't we also accept this faith that they have cherished and inherited as valuable and live a life of faith that exudes its charm to the people of the world?
