The Family of Faith

Good Morning All,

“Gosh, I’m just swamped with work… studies…family demands…I’m just not getting enough sleep…(insert your own excuse here)…getting ready to come to worship (insert other church meeting/activity here) and being in worship(meeting/activity) takes up a lot of my time…I need that time with my cup of coffee and the Sunday morning paper…it’s the only morning I can sleep in and take it easy…after all, I can worship God on my patio…at my kitchen table, right?” It’s the only time I can get away…I can worship God on the golf course, right? At the beach, right? In the mountains, right? During my own “pillow devotions,” :) right?

These are just a sampling of the “justifiable reasons” people express for not being in worship—justifiable to the persons making their case for absenteeism, but God’s verdict has yet to be rendered on this one…or has it…”Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy…” comes to mind… But I’m not writing this to make anyone feel guilty…guilt runs rampant throughout every part of our lives and accomplishes very little.

I’m bringing this to our attention to remind us all of something more important and more revealing about our relationship with God and the church. It’s not about the need to be away; or to take a little R ‘n’ R from time to time. Of course we all need a break from the stresses and demands of everyday life. Even God rested on the 7th day, right? Jesus went off to be by himself to pray quite regularly; found that quiet mountain rest from time to time.

It’s not any of the excuses we offer that disturb me; it’s more about how I think most of us have forgotten the purpose of a faith community. Yes, God can be worshipped anywhere… There, I’ve said it! You do not have to be in worship on Sunday morning each week in order to worship God…God indeed, is everywhere and I imagine God is pleased with our worship wherever and whenever we take time to do so…And yes, we can indeed worship God by ourselves…But there’s more to being a faithful Christian than this…worshipping God calls us to be in community with one another. We are called to gather together to support each other.

Your life may be going along just fine for the moment…Praise God. But the person seated next to you in worship, may be quietly sitting in his/her own “pool of tears” or filled with joy because there is something to celebrate that day; and you are needed to be there for that person. The joys are easily shared with one another. But you may never know the hurt and pain of that person next to you; nor the importance of the comfort or encouragement you offer simply by being there.

And when it’s your turn, and you have a joy to share or when you are engulfed by your own “pool of tears,” you need others to be there for you in the same way…worshipping together is a “win-win” experience. We give and receive to and from the other…we’re there for each other.

“...what we glimpse is life woven together in love…interwoven in ways that do not smother and encumber but release and strengthen. Here is God’s desire and design for created life…
“So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith (Gal.6:10). No dimension of another’s life lies beyond the scope of the Christian’s concern and care. Paul enjoins us to “bear one another’s burdens” and so fulfill the commandment to love one another (Gal. 6:2)…New life in Christ manifests itself in responsibility for the other…” (John Mogabgab, Weavings XXIII:4; July August 2008)

This is the purpose of being Church—the body of believers gathered together in one place…See you the next time we gather in one place…Blessings, Joanne