Bridging the Gap: Church Teaching and Church Living

In the Evangelical world, the “bridge diagram” became a standard way to express the human condition, our separation from God due to sin and the reconciling (a.k.a. “bridge building”) work of Christ on the Cross.  Our sin has created a chasm between us and God tantamount to the Grand Canyon that we, no matter how we try or how “good” we are, can’t overcome.  Only Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross can bridge the gap and bring us into right relationship with God again.  This simple diagram could be explained in an elevator, written on a napkin and easily understood by young and old alike.  It typically looked something like this:

[1]

Recently another chasm has been reported and it is causing some serious headaches in the Catholic Church.  In her latest work, Forming Intentional Disciples, Sherry Weddell writes, “There is a chasm the size of the Grand Canyon between the [Catholic] Church’s sophisticated theology . . . and the lived spiritual experience of the majority of our people.”[2]  In other words, the truths and teachings of the Catholic Church are fine.  Matter of fact, they are beautiful, magnificent, timeless treasures.  The problem is, somehow all that sophistication is not “trickling down” to the masses.  Most Catholics are not living into the reality of the Church’s high calling.

The result?  Weddell continues, “As long as this holds true, the theology of the laity and the Church’s teaching on evangelization will remain beautiful ideals that are, practically speaking, dead letters for the vast majority of Catholics.”[3]  Wisdom is only valuable when it is used, when it is lived.  The sophisticated truths of the Catholic tradition are not simply intellectual statues to be lauded and adored.  It is not enough that “our team” has accumulated a trove of spiritual trophies.  Christ calls every baptized Christian to a conscious human response that is deeply personal, lived daily and communally embodied.

What is the cross that the Church must carry in order to bridge this tragic gap that has developed between its teachings and its flock?  In a word – discipleship.  It is not enough to ask people to lay their lives at the foot of the Cross.  We must tell them what to pick up.  We must show them through our lives and witness what it means to follow Jesus.  God’s Incarnate Son showed us in the flesh how to live a life in tune with the Father, in step with the Spirit (Gal 5:25).  The role of Young Life leaders is not to lead kids away from the Church but to help them live into the highest ideals of Catholicism marked on them at Baptism.

“And as the Father has sent me,” Jesus said, “so I am sending you”(Jn 20:21).  Let us, as Catholics, take up the cross of discipleship and follow in the footsteps of the Savior.  The world is waiting for true bridge-builders.

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[1]             If you still can’t figure it out, just ask your local Evangelical whose entire world would light up to hear you ask, “Hey, could you explain to me the bridge diagram please?” 

[2]             Sherry A. Weddell, Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus, Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor Press, 2012, 11.

[3]             Ibid.