Faith by Osmosis

Joshua 24:14-18

John 6:56-69

 

            When we were younger, we knew people who were into prenatal learning by osmosis.  We have been out of the baby scene for quite awhile so I’m not certain how common this is anymore. You’ll have to let me know.

 

            If you’ve had high school biology, you may remember the principle of osmosis. Just so you know, you’ll be tested on this at the end of the sermon, so pay attention. (Not really). Osmosis is based on the principle that a higher concentration of liquid will always flow to an area with a lower concentration of liquid. This happens naturally, without any effort on the part of any living thing. On a cellular level, it’s one of the things that keeps us alive.

 

            Osmosis is a passive form of exchange as opposed to active. An active form of liquid exchange would be me drinking a glass of water. I initiate the action and make the transfer happen. Being fed a glass of water is also active transfer—somebody is doing something to make sure the water gets where it is supposed to go. Even receiving intravenous fluids is active transfer; somebody is making the liquid go from one place to another. Osmosis is passive—nobody does anything to make it happen—if you find yourself in a certain environment, it just happens.

 

            Now back to prenatal learning by osmosis. In one case that we knew of, the parents played tapes of classical music for the pregnant mother all during the day and while sleeping at night. The theory was that the developing fetus would absorb all of this in the formative stages and develop an appreciation of and talent for good music. It is passive learning. It all just comes to the child, rather than anyone having to actually work at it.

            It is similar to a method of learning foreign language that I heard about. Again, the claim was that if you played these foreign language tapes through the night while you slept, your brain would simply absorb the knowledge and you would learn the language without the effort of having to study it.

 

            I don’t know what the track record is for learning by osmosis but I wouldn’t put any money on it. It’s a fact of life that very few things get accomplished passively; it takes will and effort to make them happen. We always seem to be hunting for shortcuts to that process, but they never seem to work.

 

            This all comes to mind because of the Scripture readings today that call for a decision, a choice. The word “decision” sends shudders through the pews of most mainline churches.  That kind of talk strikes a little too close to the

            I Got Religion,

            I Found Jesus,

            I’m Saved Because I Gave My Heart to Jesus theology.

 

In the Lutheran Church, as in the UCC, we understand that the Bible is not about us and what we do or have done. It’s about what God has done, is doing, and will do. Spiritual relationship is not a trophy of achievement that we present as a gift to a grateful and relieved God, it is a gift God presents to us. Life is a gift, eternal life is a gift. They are not things that we find or earn.

 

            In trying to avoid that kind of doctrine, though, I wonder if we don’t often stumble into an equally dangerous trap. We get lulled into thinking that we can keep our faith tradition going without really having to do anything. We try to keep faith going by osmosis, by just letting it seep into us and our young people, and then get surprised when it doesn’t transfer the way we wish.

 

            It is understandable how we got into this habit. After all, there is a degree to which osmosis works; we can create conditions in which some kind of learning can be gained without effort or study or even realizing it. This may surprise you to learn but when we moved to Creston a year ago, we noticed that people here have a very distinctive accent, quite a bit different from what we were used to in Wisconsin. But now, after only a year, I don’t notice it that often. If I were younger, and had more permeable membranes, I would be starting to speak SW Iowan by now. I would be learning a different way of speech, and I would not even notice that I was doing it.

 

            Even some elements of faith can be transferred passively, by osmosis. I remember once when someone asked my father why he was a Lutheran. I expected that Dad, being a pastor and writer and seminary teacher, would come out with a very learned and detailed explanation of the merits of Lutheranism as opposed to other denominations and faiths. Instead, he came out with a very simple and honest answer: he said, “I’m Lutheran because my Dad was.”

 

            And I guess I can say much the same thing. I’m Lutheran because my parents were. It was never a conscious choice. I just grew up in the soup of Lutheranism, and those nutrients seeped into me over the years without me ever making a conscious decision or even knowing that it was seeping in. It’s not that I couldn’t change, but a lot Lutheran stuff has seeped in by osmosis and it’s here.

 

            Although there is more flexibility than there used to be, most people tend to remain close to the tradition in which they were raised. Children of Catholic parents are generally Catholic, Protestant kids tend to remain Protestant, Moslems remain Moslem, Jews remain Jews. Obviously, we are not able to weigh the issues objectively and intellectually, we are steered in the direction of faith by osmosis. That happens without us making a decision at all. We are to some degree chameleons--we automatically take on the colors of our surroundings.

 

And so, yes, it is a fact that the more often you come to church, the more often  you bring your family to church, and participate in the life of the church, and just let yourself be around the church atmosphere, the greater the chance that all of you will stay connected to the church all their lives.

 

            We see this and it takes some of the pressure off, especially for us northern European types who thrive on passive behavior. If God is the one who calls us and God is the one who saves us and brings us abundant life, then isn’t it up to God to keep the church strong? And if the faith can be passed on passively through osmosis, without us having to actually do much beyond making sure we and our kids are soaking in a warm Christian environment, why should we knock ourselves out?

 

            After all, we are busy people with a lot of other things to think about, lots of stuff we want to do and we only have so much time and energy. Why waste it when we can just soak in a Christian environment and let Christianity come to us without our having to really do anything?

 

            Here’s the problem. It is not very effective in accomplishing what God wants to accomplish. Yes, you can catch some tradition, some ritual, and even some ethics by sitting passively in a Christian environment and soaking it all up. But God does not call us to be catchers of some tradition, ritual, and even some ethics; God calls us to be disciples. Discipleship is not something you absorb from the environment. Discipleship requires a decision to take action.

 

            In the Old Testament reading from Joshua, the Israelite leader does not say, “Things are going reasonably well. Just go along with your everyday lives and soak up some tradition, some ritual, and even some ethics, and we’ll keep this thing going that way.” No, he says you have been called into a special relationship with God. You cannot enjoy the fruits of that relationship by sitting on the sidelines enjoying the Christian ambience. The relationship is an active one. Are you in or are you out? “Choose this day whom you will serve.”

 

            In the story from John, Jesus puts the same question to a large crowd of people who want to be his followers. “Are you content to stand around and soak up all the warm fuzzies that come from my teachings? Or will you accept this special relationship that God desires with his people? Are you ready for the adventure?”

            As it says in verse 66, most of them were not ready for that. It sounded like some effort was involved. As long as they could sit at Jesus feet and watch him do his thing and enjoy the food, and not actually have to do anything, or think about anything, but just sit there and soak it up, they were Jesus’ number #1 fans. When it came to actually getting in the game, no that’s too much time and work. When Jesus put that choice to them, so many of his followers deserted him that Jesus seemed to be wondering if his ministry was over. Was there going to be anyone left willing to actually do something?

 

 

            Down to his last 12 disciples, he says to them, probably with a heavy sigh, “Do you also wish to go away? Is there going to be anyone left who has the gumption to get up and accept the treasure that I want to give to you?

 

            We’re finding out more and more clearly each year that the mainline Christian church’s basic strategy of passing along the faith through osmosis doesn’t work. It never worked all that well back when we were young, but it is really ineffective today.  The

environment of our young people is crammed with far more stimulation, ideas, and diversions than they can possibly process. Expecting the Christian faith to seep into them in any recognizable form through all that is a longshot. While it is desperately important that we do what we can to create a favorable environment in which faith can be nurtured, that environment by itself, is not going to cut it anymore.

 

            Something more has to happen. The only effective way of passing along the faith is through discipleship. Through people accepting that when we treat Christianity as a tasteful little accessory to our lives, no one will take it seriously, not even us. Discipleship means that study, worship, giving, prayer, and sacrifice are at the center of what we do. There is a call that comes with the Christian faith, one that asks for a response, a decision. Disciple or no? Not deciding is the same as a no answer because being a disciple requires saying yes to God’s invitation.

 

            Mainline churches cannot afford to sit back and hope that ministry happens. We’ve tried that and look at the results. The demographics are scary. Our numbers and energy have been dwindling while the numbers of the unchurched and the numbers of the extreme religious groups, Christian and otherwise, have been growing fast. At the pace this is happening, we will soon be following the path of Middle Eastern nations. If we in the mainline churches do not hold, the center will not hold, and there will be nothing to prevent this nation from being torn between a secular society that knows nothing of God, and zealots who claim that God is a vengeful apparition who speaks only to them.

 

            It is not too late to prevent this from happening. But in order to do so our members must stand up and boldly proclaim the message of love in the Bible as it has been given to us. We must reclaim the identity of the Christian church from those who have been speaking more loudly than we and with more fervor, who have instilled in the public mind the image of Christians as a group of narrow-minded, intolerant, holier-than-thou, know-it-alls.

 

            It won’t happen by osmosis. It won’t happen without commitment on a level that our churches have not seen in decades. And the longer we put it off,  

 

            I know that what I am preaching today is not the primary message of the Christian faith. The primary message we proclaim is that God is good, God is powerful, God loves and cares for us beyond our comprehension, and the way we know this is through the life of Jesus Christ, who came to show a sinful and selfish world what life is all about. Jesus has given us the words of eternal life.

            I am not proclaiming those words today so much as I asking your help in proclaiming them.  message of grace and peace.

 

            Not to decide is to decide; all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.

            Choose this day, whom you will serve, actively passionately. Let us proclaim the words that Jesus came into this world to bring. Let us make the decision to build up this church to be a voice that can be heard and respected and understood as it proclaims the message of grace and peace. As it proclaims the words of eternal life that the world so desperately needs to here.