I'll be heading out later in the day on the long drive to Boston. This weekend I'll watch my older daughter graduate from Boston University, and so it is perhaps not surprising that I wonder about her faith life as she goes "out into the world." In my limited experience, many young people have lots of faith questions and few faith certainties. They would seem to be precisely the sort of folks who would come to congregations to explore their questions.Yet from what I gather, folks with more questions than answers, be they young or old, often find that the Church is not a very inviting place. It can seem to outsiders a place filled with certainties, where all questions have already been asked and answered, and where there is not much room for exploration.
In his letter to the Roman Church, Paul writes, "Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions." Repeatedly in his letters, Paul insists that the Church must always have the needs of those weak in faith, new to the faith, struggling with the faith as a primary concern. To Paul, anything that hinders a person from coming to faith or growing in faith is a travesty, and a failure to be the Church of Jesus Christ.
I know that I often have a strong desire to do things correctly, to get them right, and I suspect that this puts up a barrier to those whose faith questions are more basic or fundamental than my concerns over the finer points of getting things right. May God help me to become a person of welcome to all who are seekers and questioners.
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