Why Bother with Church?
Decades ago Americans went to church
because it was the thing to do.
And, besides, there wasn’t much else
to do on Sunday.
Obviously times have changed, and so
churchgoers have become a minority.
Given that you could be home on
Sunday morning reading the paper or mowing the lawn, why should you bother to
come to church?
As we begin another new church year,
here’s my 10 Ten Reasons for going to church.
(As Dave Letterman would say, drum
roll please!)
Reason Number 10:
Worship gives us a break from the
rest of life. The Bible calls that Sabbath.
All week long we work at jobs and
chores and raising kids and paying bills.
In worship we find a time apart.
Here we can stop and take a rest and
reconnect with our spirit.
By doing funny things like lighting
candles and wearing robes, we reinforce the message that this place and time
are different.
God knows we need Sabbath.
So come to church to break away.
Reason Number 9:
Worship strengthens us for living the
rest of our week.
Someone once put an item on the
internet about a churchgoer who complained churchgoing was all a waste.
I’ve gone to church every Sunday for
30 years and yet can’t remember a single one of those 3000 sermons, he wrote.
To that another man replied:
“I’ve been married for 30 years, and
in that time my wife has cooked 32,000 meals. I can’t recall one single menu in
its entirety, but I know those meals nourished me and gave me strength."
Come to church to gather strength!
Reason Number 8:
Going to church reminds us we’re not
alone.
In worship we’re connected to the
basic human concerns and longings that are part of our shared humanity.
Never are we more aware of that than
on Christmas eve, as we all sing the beloved carols looking into the candles’
glow. (Well, actually here we look into battery powered light but that’s another
story.)
Worship reminds us we share the same
hopes, the same dreams, the
same sorrows, the same fears – not
only with our neighbors but with people down through the ages.
Here we face together the experience
of life as joy and sorrow, fear and courage, love and hate, life and death.
Come to church to express and share your humanity.
Reason Number 7:
In church we face the realities of
good and evil.
Since the Enlightenment we’ve wanted
to believe that human nature is basically good; and if we are nice to
everybody, others will
rise to their best self and the world
will be just hunky dory.
Since then there’s been two world
wars and Lord knows how many
other world crises. The Bible reminds
us that from the beginning of time we’ve been a mixed bag.
As we look at what’s been happening
between Russian and Georgia, what may be happening in
Come to church to see reality.
Reason Number 6:
Churches keep us morally on track.
Did you happen to see on CNN recently
an interview with a politician who was asked to name the 10 commandments?
He had to admit, on camera, he did
not know a single one.
The 10 Commandments are guidelines
for maintaining a healthy
society.
Church is where we learn there are 10
Commandments, and that they are commandments, not suggestions. While there’s
much more to religion than upholding morality, and some people can be morally
good without formal religion, most of us can benefit from regular reminders.
Come to church to learn rules for good living – rules Jesus boiled
down to loving God and loving our neighbor.
Number 5:
Churches challenge us to serve the
world.
Left to my own devices I’d probably
still be a pretty decent person. But I know I owe to the church my commitment
to using my life to help other people.
By nature I’d rather keep more of
what I have for myself and tell myself that others make their own beds and have
to lie in them. It’s only in church that I’m reminded Jesus envisioned the
world as
a kingdom in which the blind see, the
deaf hear, the lame dance, and the
mute shout for joy simple because those who are in power have been convinced to
use their power for good instead of selfish gain.
Come to church to find eternal life by serving others.
Number 4:
Churches are a place to use our
gifts.
It’s been a joy during this interim
to see so many people step forward voluntarily to use their gifts and to know
they’ve been rewarded by being able to exercise those gifts --April with the
youth choir, Jackie with Music C. and more, Barbara and Brent with the youth,
the
Miners with missions, and so much
more.
Come to church to use your gifts!
Reason Number 3:
Churches are communities in which we
learn to give and receive love.
Communities aren’t always easy. Some
people challenge us. But even the challenges help us learn to be more loving
and forgiving.
And in the worst of our times, I know
you can count on this church to be there to hold you up and feel cherished.
Come to church to love and be loved!
Reason Number 2
Churches are faith banks.
They are places we can borrow faith
when we need to. None of us gets through
life without periods of faith crises or faith fatigue.
In a church community, that great
cloud of witnesses made up of the saints on earth and the saints in heaven keep
us going when our own faith is shaky.
And someday soon, we may be able take
a turn at doing that for others.
Come to church to draw from, and add to, the well of faith.
Reason Number 1
Church is where we can know God and
build a relationship with God.
Yes, it’s true we can worship God in
our backyard. But the church offers us a
vast reservoir of resources for understanding God better: our tradition, our
scripture, our shared communal reasoning, and our shared experience through the
ages – the experience of great theologians, of mystics, of common men and women
in the pews to whom, we believe, God speaks.
Left to our own devices we get a
little peek at God. But it’s a peek through a small window. Together we get the
big picture.
Most importantly, in the church God
calls us into a relationship that will change our lives.
Today in the gospel we hear how the
disciples were astonished to meet Jesus out on the water.
That’s what church is supposed to be:
A place we meet the living God -- a God
so astonishing our mouths are left hanging open and our lives are forever
changed.
Come to church to meet the living God and let the living God meet you.
This promises to be an exciting year
for this church.
Before long you’ll be introduced to a
potential new pastor.
And shortly thereafter, we hope, that
new pastor will start to lead
you into that new thing God has in mind
for you.
For so many reasons, I hope you will
keep coming to church and be a part of making this church the exciting
community it’s called to be.
Amen.