Stages of Faith, Part I

A sermon for April 19, 2009

Thomas the apostle must have been from Missouri, he was living in a “show me” state. Although he had been with Jesus and the others, and seen all that Jesus had done and how people responded to him and were healed and changed by him, he needed things to be concrete. Up until this story in the Gospel of John, he appears to have been a bystander, not really understanding what it meant for him. His doubt was not a sin and Jesus didn’t treat it that way. Thomas’ doubt is an indication of where he was on his spiritual journey, of what and how he was capable of understanding.

James Fowler, was Professor of Theology and Human Development at Emery University for a long time until he retired in 2005. He is best known for his 1981 book The Stages of Faith; The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning. Fowler linked cognitive and moral development to illustrate how faith changes as we grow and grow up. He provided some markers for our work here as we “seek a deeper understanding of the mystery of God.”
Today we are welcoming into the Body of Christ, Samantha Sophia Roberts. Although she has already been welcomed into the hearts of this congregation, this is her official entry into the church. It is the beginning of her journey in faith as a Christian, and as a member of Faith Episcopal Church. We are committed to her journey because her journey is our journey and she will be formed by ours. At her age, all of a year, it’s pretty uncomplicated. Her spiritual journey begins as she relates to her world.

Those who study humans and their brains and their minds know that we cannot learn what we are not ready for. My daughter Melanie, the librarian and voracious reader had a really hard time learning how to read. She struggled along, frustrated until she had broken the code between the idea of the word and the squiggles on the page. When all of her was ready, her eyes, her brain and her desire, reading happened and a new world opened up for her. In many ways, faith is like that. Our learning and thinking about God develops in stages as we are ready. In infancy, our faith is, not surprisingly, infantile. Without a concept for God, a baby learns all that it knows through physical contact and care. When hungry or frightened an infant cries out for the presence that will provide food and comfort. It’s how a child learns to trust and to hope and it will have an impact on the later development of faith. Because we can’t get a lot of good testimony from Samantha it’s hard to be sure, but Dr. Fowler tells us that in this very beginning, he calls infancy a pre-step, the idea of God is unformed, like air. Care and comfort come from out there. For our little ones here at Faith, they begin to expand their understanding of the source of comfort to Claire and the familiarity and safety of the nursery as well as the regular community that is overjoyed at their presence. Samantha learns about God through being adored.

Somewhere between age 2 and 3 she will enter the first real stage of Faith development as she begins to differentiate between herself and others. For quite a while, she will not be able to understand that others don’t see what she sees. It’s always so cute to see a little one think that they are hiding when they put their hands over their eyes. To them, if they can’t see, neither can anyone else. Brady was sure he was invisible if he put a towel over his head. Games like peek-a-boo teach about the reality of things unseen. Little ones learn that things still exist even when they slip out of sight. Stories are the main source of learning and they help birth the imagination. For years, Amy Shimizu has given our little ones the stories of gardens and floods and animals and seas that part. They trust what they are hear and in their little minds and spirits, the stories and the feelings about them are the same thing. So we don’t give them stories with graphic, frightening details. They’ll learn about crucifixion when they are ready. For them are the stories of shepherds and angels. It’s easy for them to accept that God is just everywhere.

Somewhere around age 7, a big change takes place as they begin to decide for themselves what seems to be real. For these inhabitants of Stage Two, the stories that they create begin to take the perspective of the other and God becomes the biggest Other. It is at this age that God become a being – white beard, robes, throne in the sky because language in the stories is understood very literally. Their stories usually have a fairness component because they need to trust in some sort of order. God, or something is in charge of fairness. This stage usually ends around pre-teen, puberty years but there are adults never leave it completely and what results is a pretty rigid and highly controlled understanding of how things are to be.

What brings a child out of Stage Two is an awareness of contradiction in stories that lead to a search for meaning. It is a time of disillusionment with previous teachings and teachers because they are teenagers. Reality for this group can be seen through the lens of this little verse; “I see you seeing me; I see the me I think you see.” It is a time of great conformity. Authority becomes a real issue because it is held by “them” and for the most part it feels tyrannical, whether it is parental or even a peer group. For us here at Faith, this is when the hard work begins. Nancy and Lisa, who lead our Journey to Adulthood Groups are very brave women. They are faced with skepticism and the increasingly complex relationships of their young friends. There are plenty of people who check out of religion at this point – religion is one authority that it’s apparently acceptable to reject. But in the best of circumstances, when these teenagers chose to stay open, they are ready for the transcendent experiences that many of them have. God is experienced as a divinely personal significant other. At this stage young people are best helped by honoring and working with them about relationships. Our Journey to Aduldhood program is packed with lessons about relating. As relationships become deeper and richer, so too does can the relationship with God.

Dr. Fowler says that this is the average stage at which most people stay. Religions that stress authority of doctrine and behavior organize themselves around that. In stage 3, the importance of the group is stronger than any discomfort about ideas. Teens and those who remain at this level can forsake values rather than be ostracized. To move beyond stage three, one must be in contact with people who have already done so. They represent an invitation to greater awareness. Moving out of Stage Three is probably the most difficult step on a Spiritual Journey. I hadn’t intended to make this a series, but the fact that I’m at the end of my time and we’re trying to get out of Stage 3, with three more to go, means this is that point when my kids would angrily realize they had no closure and shout at the television, “Oh no, it’s a continue!”

As we welcome Samantha into this mystery that is the Body of Christ, it is with great awareness of our responsibility to the journey that that is ahead of her. We commit ourselves to understanding as much as we can about such a journey so that we may be helpful guides and companions along the way. But we also keep an open mind and heart for the joy and blessings that she will bring and with which she will teach us.