One of the really interesting classes that I am taking this semester is Latin American Studies. This class covers history, culture and everything in between. One of the major points in the course so far has been the difference between Individualistic culture and Communitarian culture (aka. Collectivistic or Enmeshed culture). While studying this content, we read a very insightful book entitled The New America: The America of the Moo-Shoo Burrito by Stan Perea. The book focused on what these two models of living - individualistic and communitarian - looked like for the future of the U.S. To give you a super short generalized summary, individualistic cultures include the traditional face of the U.S. and the Western World. Individualistic cultures are focused on the individual, success, etc. Communitarian cultures are usually found in the developing world, including places such as Latin America, East Asia, Africa, etc. Communitarian cultures find their identity in their group, and are very relationally based. While I just gave you a fraction of a glimpse, these two models can be applied to family dynamics, education, business, the justice system, entertainment, politics and even the church. So, what does this have to do with you and me? We all live somewhere on this model in which complete individualism and complete communitarianism are both pathological. Thus, we need to find balance on this model and in our lives.
One of the points that I have found really interesting about this book that is very relevant to each of our lives regards the way we worship and represent our faith. On the Individualistic extreme, which can be seen in the faith of many white Americans, we focus on our faith being a victory. The image of the church is one of the cross (with nothing on it). Jesus rose to new life and through His resurrection we have victory - victory over evil, sin and death, and all our problems and discomforts. We have success. People on the communitarian extreme view their faith very differently. They tend to portray their faith as a cross with the crucified Jesus on it. While they know He is risen, they find comfort in the fact that Jesus suffered just as humans suffer in life, and that Christ is present in pain.
Both of these views are correct, but when taken alone, they are wrong. It is bad to just see faith as our success and triumph in life. It is equally bad to just see the suffering in life and not realize that we have been saved and redeemed not only in the next life, but in this life too. Nevertheless, it seems like an appropriate combination of the two extremes is seeing our faith as a spiritual pilgrimage - a journey filled with pain and blessings.
The idea of life and faith being a spiritual pilgrimage is an idea that was presented in one of my classes last fall. This approach embraces the fact that in our faith and in our lives we will go through the "Valley of Death" as well as the springs of life. Both struggles and triumphs are necessary and inevitable; they both teach us about the nature of God and living in his creation. To deny one of the facets of pilgrimage is to deny an inevitable fact of life and to be ignorant of an opportunity to grow. Therefore, we must embrace pilgrimage to live fully, taking joy and sorrow in stride.
This idea of pilgrimage is presented in Psalms 84:5-7
"Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts o pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools [blessings].
They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion."
So, what does this mean for our lives?
It means seeking God at all times, while realizing that life will not always be enjoyable and will not always go as we like. It also means recognizing and accepting the fact that we may go through "dry spells" in our faith, meaning that we may have a hard time being grateful and we may even feel distant from God at times. Instead of trying to deny this fact, we should embrace it as a part of the journey and stay obedient to God while moving towards the nourishment of living springs that He provides. Spiritual pilgrimage involves living in the truth that we are redeemed by Christ in this world, yet we do not live perfect lives and we will fall short time and again. We should realize that we were not made for this world; our home is in Heaven. But, we are making the best of our time in this world by living and growing in all circumstances.
It's not easy to accept all events in life, but hopefully we can all learn to see our lives and faith as a Spiritual Pilgrimage. Even if we can't see God's presence in the midst of circumstances, hopefully we will be able to learn from His ways in hindsight. A faith lived in connection with the suffering and the resurrected Christ is a strong faith; it is a faith worth striving for. In any case, I hope you can find comfort in the fact that even though your life will be filled with the twists and turns and unexpected surprises of a journey, your ultimate destination will be the Paradise that your Creator gifted you with in His infinite love.
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