Spirited Sunday: Cathedral Contemplation

On face value, my boyfriend and I may seem quite different when it comes to the church. Without speaking for him, I would describe him as much more traditionally religious, participating in his Campus Christian Fellowship, wearing a cross, proclaiming Jesus as his one and only savior, and so forth. By comparison, while I was baptized Episcopal, I have attended church, well, you can count on two hands how many times. I haven't read the Bible cover to cover and in fact got my only "C" in high school when we had an exam on its contents. (I went to a public school, but we read it as literature.)

In some ways, it might be surprising that we're together. Perhaps you might also be surprised that I would go to the National Cathedral for Easter service today. But just as my boyfriend is hard to peg, so am I. Spirituality is a complex thing, after all.

My father was a proclaimed atheist. I remember early on offending kids in school by sharing with them his view. To a young Jenny T., his take on God seemed very rational and as a German, he was very rational and scientific about such things. Later he claimed he leaned towards the Hindu religion because in Hindu, man was god. On his deathbed, he espoused an affinity for Buddhism.

While I am not a spiritual relativist, I've always felt that I have a gift for being able to appreciate a range of perspectives, and so when my darling boyfriend Wood asked if I considered myself an agnostic, I thought, well yes and no. Agnosticism seems a bit indecisive. Instead, I would describe myself as a pantheologian, and while I don't hold every religion in equal regard, I do find parts of many spiritual practices useful in my own personal quest for truth.

So, it was comforting to me today when the Bishop of Washington was sharing his story behind the cross he wears. He said that it was a cross from a Native American tribe made of black and red coral and turquoise. That it had been given to him from a friend, a fellow Christian with whom he differed on many issues but also with whom he had mutual respect and common love of Christ. He wears that cross every day as a reminder of his daily purpose in this world, so full of contention and fear, that we continue to talk and listen to eachother.

There is hope.