I am not a chruchman, nor do I have the insolance to presume to the ministry via mail order, but this season seems the appropriate time to write a homily, if I am going to write any this year. I have taken as my theme not a passage from the Bible (although I certainly have many opinions on that), but a point of the Scout Law. The Scout Law is the article of confession which lays out twelve principles for living as a Scout or Scouter. Each of these principles is called a "point" and I have chosen to discuss the twelfth and last: "A Scout is reverent". In our multicultural society, and particularly in a multi-faith troop, this point can diminish to the point of evanescence. A careful treatment of the twelfth point of the Scout Law, it seems to me, divides into three parts, which roughly correspond to childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. This is not necessarily linked to actual physical growth: a "baby Christian", after all, can be a sixty-year-old widower.
Reverence starts first with respect for the beliefs of your family and community. Please note that this is not necessarily the same as your personal beliefs. Your personal beliefs at this stage exist, but are forming and will change slightly or greatly as you gain more experience. The familial and communal environment, nonetheless, for good or ill, affects your world view, even if you reject the tradition in the end. You should strive to understand what your religion believes, no matter how bizarre it may seem, because without understanding you may falter on the next step. In some churches (to use an environment with which I am familiar) there is a great degree of uniformity of opinion, while in others there exists great diversity.
Unless you live in an extremely isolated area, you will meet people who believe differently than the community in which you were raised, and than you yourself believe. These different beliefs may be other sects of the same religion or altogether separate faiths. Reading a book on world religions, such as that of Huston Smith, will help in grasping different perspectives and in allowing you to understand the faith traditions which are absent in your neighborhood, although a book is no substitute for a person of a particular denomination or faith who is willing to explain the "on the ground" perspective of a believer. You will discover that different faith traditions have reached opposite conclusions from the same passages, and the same conclusions from vastly different passages. It is critical while you are doing this investigation that you treat those who are willing to discuss their faith with you that, however bizarre his beliefs seem to you, he believes wholeheartedly in these articles of religion. If the religion demands certain behaviors in greeting worshippers or entering the place of worship, such as not shaking hands and taking off shoes, you should observe these customs out of respect.
If you take your shoes off outside a mosque, you are not turning into a Muslim, but merely respecting that the Muslims within the mosque regard it as a holy place.
After you have investigated and sought to understand, then you are ready to decide what you believe. It is important to remember that whatever you come to believe, there will be people who dispute every single point of that belief. It is good to be able to explain what you believe and why you believe it, but do not expect your arguments to compel doubters and antagonists. The best way to show your belief is through its expression in your life - it is curious how behaving as though you were a good person makes you a better person. This faith, however, does not release you from your obligation to treat others' faiths with respect; in fact, you may find that your deeper faith enhances your appreciation for the deeper faith of others, whether within your religion or alternate religions: Benedictines, Franciscans, and Jesuits have radically different approaches to the same Catholic faith.
That's my homily for Christmas. I hope it gave you pleasure and provided you with matters for thought.
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