One Sunday, we were getting ready to pray before exiting our home for Church. Alexa had just spoken without being prompted, inadvertently, unexpectedly, and unwontedly. It was weird and unsettling.
We chatted for a moment about how creepy Alexa can be at times—and then I proceeded to pray.
I bowed my head for holy prayer and said, “Dear Alexa…”.
I quickly opened my eyes and lifted my reverently bowed head-- to witness my wife exploding in irrepressible laughter and my daughter contemplating whether her daddio had become a heretic.
“Oh, Dear Mighty Alexa…” OK, I never said it like that—but I did say it.
Geesh.
It got me thinking. Who do we pray to these days? Many good folks who were raised in the Church are asking thoughtful questions. Questions they kinda thought they should never voice out loud. What IS prayer all about? What IS the purpose of worship? Most of us were discipled to think a certain way about prayer—its purpose and how to do it. Were we fed the RIGHT information? How active is God—really—in our lives? Does he heal? Does he care? Is he listening to little ol' me living on this speck in the stunningly massive universe? Is Jesus the real deal—is he really God?
Maybe Karl Marx was right. “Religion is (merely) the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world…opiate for the people.” (Wikipedia)
For some, religion probably is only opiate. Like Karl, I have never been big on religion. I’ll take a healthy dose of Jesus, however, any day of the week.
When I compose the Pilgrimage—I do not write it only for those of us who have been around the 21st century church for our entire lives and drunk the Kool-Aid without questioning anything about the Church, the Bible, or Jesus.
I write for the quiet question-asker who thinks about these things—but fears the judgmentalism of their own tribe. For the Heretically Curious.
If you like cute answers, I am not your guy. Spare me the fluff. No need for soft landings if a rough landing is accurate/true.
Perhaps you are wired the same way.
My prayer for you is that you are willing to ask hard questions about your faith. Jesus. God. The Bible. Purpose of the Church. It is OK to live with some open-endedness (but super scary). I prefer neat answers—but I have not found them. Spick-and-span answers provide a certain measure of comfort, but these days I choose to live with less clarity—and feel more fulfilled in that than ever before.
I used to worship Certainty…and I dearly miss it…and sometimes pine for it! (Sigh).
If this aimless talk does not make sense to you—no worries. But I am certain you have someone in your life, your circle, your tribe—for whom this very much makes sense. Try to be embracing as they search and try to be comfortable with their quest for something beyond what might seem obvious to others.
One thing we can all agree on—it’s probably not a good idea to pray to Alexa.
For extra credit, meditate on Matthew 6:9-13. It’s the Lord’s Prayer—and it is an excellent template for praying—and yet so often neglected even by seasoned Jesus-Followers.
To respond to any Pilgrimage devotional, you can email me directly at [email protected]
