Back On The Road Again

It is time for confirmation here at Saint Francis. As I have been working on the curriculum, lining up the mentors and scheduling the classes, I've been revisiting all the familiar metaphors--the confirmation Journey... The Path to faith... The Great Adventure of the Christian life.

As compelling as these images might sound, I wonder how well they echo the spiritual life of the average Christian in our time? We can perhaps appreciate the suggestion that faith is a journey but an adventure? That's a strong word for people who have been raised on the likes of James Bond and Indiana Jones. Besides, hasn't the Army secured the media rights to that word for the next hundred years?

Of course, I get it. I know why we feel the need to hype. We're trying to reach adolescents. These are kids who can't bring themselves to wait for a song to finish on an IPOD. We figure we've only got one shot at 'em so we pour on the same glamor and hype that they are getting from everywhere else. The problem is that sooner or later these kids are going to discover some of the more sobering aspects of THE JOURNEY.

Adventure does have meaning in the Church but that meaning is different from the militant assaults of personal fulfillment promised by the peddlers of the world. By the time they reach 14, excitement and happiness have been so over-promised to these kids that they might actually be sick of it. Perhaps they're even hungry for something a bit more grounded.

So why not tell them the truth? Why not explain to them that following Jesus is a journey but it is a journey that sometimes leads to very grown up places. After all, part of confirmation is the acknowledgment that these young people are growing up. This is a time of transition for them--a point at which they begin accepting responsibility for their confession of Christ. So why not dispense with all the fanfare and simply tell them the story of Jesus and the Church?

Besides, following Jesus really is a journey. Trying to live a life of faith in a world of disbelief actually is an adventure. Having our lives transformed by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus should probably be enough to get our juices going...even without the hype.