Post Steubenville Blues: Faith and the Jesus High

I have been involved in ministry officially (with a role and a paycheck) for 3 years, and before that I have had a history of being in ministry as a youth, a leader, and the awkward college student who came home on breaks. Needless to say I’ve seen plenty of people who went on missions/conferences/trips/ retreats who’s “lives were changed” by the experience. I guess when they said life, I expected something more permanent than 36 hours, my mistake.

But I totally understand it guys. I was there, I’ve gone on retreats/missions and came back changed … for 36 hours. I’ve come back with a resolve to do better and love more that lasted 3 weeks, or 2 months. The question on so many young minds as they leave Steubenville conferences, Jesus camps, and mission trips this year is how can I keep feeling this way? 

Well, truth is, you can’t. I hate to break it to you, but if you will constantly look for the “feeling the Jesus high” and be crushed when it goes away – well, you will be crushed, every time, I guarantee.

That is because Jesus is not a feeling. Actually, NO relationship is a feeling. If that were the case no relationship would last, each one would be fleeting (which is not how I would like to live).

When we attend a conference or high intensity Jesus weekend or week, it’s not about the feeling, but it is an opportunity to encounter Christ. So, did you truly encounter Christ? Did you sit with him in prayer at Mass? Did you truly accept his forgiveness from the sacrament of Confession? Or was it more about the cross clap, getting a seat next to the new cute boy/girl who also went?

Well, there is good news. Since the faith isn’t about the “Jesus high,” you don’t need thousands of dollars of production, famous musicians and speakers, and a gym/conference center to keep the faith. But there are some things you DO need…

  

1. Support - You had it at the conference.. and you could see it because everyone wore matching t-shirts. But you have support even at home – find your youth minister and be extra involved. Take time to specifically talk with your friend who also went to the experience, and talk ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE. (hanging out at the mall and gossiping doesn’t quite count as “Jesus time” just because it’s youth group friends.) 

     Support others who are in their own journey, and ask for support and prayers from them too.  

    

     2. Silence/Prayer- At these conference is a lot of noise.. not bad noise, but still noise. Loud songs, the “we love Jesus” cheer, chatter, clapping, etc. Well hopefully there was one or two things you remember, wrote down, or took a picture of that you though were important. Take that quote, line of a song, image, or whatever it may be and sit with it in silence. Don’t listen to the song, write the lyric down and meditate on it. In the silence of prayer we can find God and allow him to draw us to him more closely.

3. Sacraments -  Again, Jesus is a person who established the Church that we may experience his presence through that Church and the sacraments. We must continue to be fed though the Eucharist, we need to continue to be forgiven in the sacrament of Confession.  Mass won’t end each Sunday with thunderous applause and an encore of the final song. But that doesn’t discount the miracle that took place, or the true presence of Christ now residing in you.

So, perhaps a weekend this summer, or last left you excited, ready to change the world be a light in the darkness! Only to realize “oh, it’s too dark!” Don’t be discouraged! As one of the speakers I heard this summer said “Don’t let this be a memory, let it be a momentum that changes your life forever.”

It will take time to change the world, but before you change the world, you must have firm resolve to constantly change yourself to become more like Christ each day. It’s hard work, and you will need constant prayer and support. But take courage, when it’s difficult, when you aren’t “feeling” the faith – remember, it’s more than the Jesus high, it’s a relationship, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.