reflecting on the journey
The church is not created for heaven, but for the world!
It was a last-minute thing. I heard the mountains calling, again, and, this time, I had to go! So, I packed a duffel, picked up Nate, and we headed off to Colorado, for a few days. Partly cloudy. Afternoon showers. Highs in the 80s. Lows near 50. They were there … the mountains, I mean. Along with aspen and pines. River. Lakes. Ducks. CanadianGeese. Deer. “The shadow from the starlight,” John Denver croons, “softer than a lullaby!” Big sigh!
I videoed Sunday’s service, before I left. There were last-minute emails. A few final texts. And for the next five days, all I had to do was breathe! Sun on my face! Wind in my hair! Maybe, do a little writing. And somewhere along the way, I realized … THIS WAS FAITH! THIS WAS BELIEVING! Faith … believing … isn’t anything more than just living! Out there! In the real world!
We’ve gotten – you and I – pretty used to believing by the numbers. Church is an address. A time. Somewhere we go on Sunday mornings. Singing songs! Saying prayers! Reading the bible in bitesize pieces! Faith, for us, has become a habit! A routine! It’s doing things we can count and measure and weigh! Things that show us we’re doing it right! That show us we’re doing it well! Doing things that are like pencil marks on the doorframe that record our growth! Membership! Attendance! Offerings!
We’ve been taught … told, actually … that it’s what we do here, now, that’s important! What we do here, now, that matters! If we believe, then we must be here. If we’re here, then we must believe. It’s as simple as that. But for nearly a week, I was gone. Out of pocket. Out of the loop. And I didn’t do any of it. None of the usual faith stuff. But funny thing … I realized I still had faith! I was still believing! And that’s important to understand. We don’t believe for what happens in this place. We believe for what happens out there! Through the doors! Out the windows! On the other side of the walls! We don’t believe for the sake of church. We believe for the sake of the world! For family and friends! For classmates and coworkers! For neighbors we’ve met! Neighbors we haven’t! And unfortunately, we clergy-types forget that! We have a vested – literally – a vested interest in this place. But truth is, there’s more to believing than what lies beneath a steeple.
Look at it this way. There are a hundred sixty-eight hours in a week. Most of us spend – what – an hour – maybe two – here in “church.” That means we spend the overwhelming – the overwhelming – majority of our life, not in here, but out there! That’s where we live and move and have our being! And when the race has been run and the fight’s been fought. It’s not THIS time that people will remember. THIS place. It’s who we were, it’s what we did out there, that people will talk about.
God didn’t create us for heaven! God didn’t, even, form us for church! God made us – makes us – for the world! The real world! And it’s there that we’re needed! It’s funny … All those time and talent sheets we filled out, over the years. You know, the ones that were never used, beyond being filled out. They always asked about things we could do, under this roof (figuratively speaking)! Cutting the grass! Trimming the bushes! Cleaning the sanctuary! Greeter! Usher! Acolyte! Crucifer! Liturgist! Reader! And that was only the start! Council! Committee! Sunday school! Youth group! It all needed people! But we never imagined, never envisioned, what believing looked away from all this!
It’s like when the gospel sparked my imagination. When Jesus piqued my curiosity. It was as if no one could have faith, as if no one could believe – passionately, enthusiastically – without being a part of all this. According to popular opinion, I had only one option. Pastor! Truth is, that wasn’t my first choice. Like most clergy, becoming a pastor was more … my last resort. This isn’t the time or the place for us to be Christians. Not foremost. Not first. This isn’t the only time or only place, to be religious, or spiritual, or devout. Out there! Out there is where we do that! In here? In here, we only learn about it. What it is. How we do it. This is where we can ask, “What does this mean?” What’s the reason? The purpose? The significance? This is where we learn what life is, what life is like … OUT THERE!
We’re not here to get answers. Nor foremost. No first. We’re church to ask questions! We’re not here to listen to the great wind or see the earthquake or feel the fire. We’re here to hear the whisper of god! That still, small voice! That sound of absolute silence!
We were never meant for this place. Not always. Not forever. We’re intended to live our faith … OUT THERE! Becoming! Being who – what – god made us! Practicing what we preach! Passing on what we first received! OUT THERE among the goings and comings! OUT THERE between the downs and the ups! We’re not the exception; we’re the rule! Not the extra-ordinary, but the ordinary! Not the super-natural, but the very, very natural! Faith isn’t uphigh! Believing isn’t far away! But it’s matter-of-fact and down-to-earth! This isn’t where faith, where believing, lives! Here with the singing and the praying! This is, simply … This is, merely, where that faith is conceived! Where that believing is born! But out there! That’s where it thrives! That’s where it flourishes! Covered with the earth and the ashes and the dust!
It’s not just Jesus calling. Softly. Tenderly. It’s the mountains calling, as well! Every blade of grass is calling! Every grain of sand! Calling us! And this? All this? It’s only the beginning! It’s only just the start! This is an Easter … a resurrection … raising us from the tomb … leading us out! Into the world! Where we belong! To serve like we’ve been served! To forgive like we’ve been forgiven! To save like we’ve been saved! To love just like Jesus! Raised up! Reborn! To reënter the world! Seeing it, for the first time! Seeing it, with new eyes!
So, each week, for one hour, the gospel’s proclaimed! Every Sunday morning, for sixty-or-so minutes, the goodNews is administered! So that we can live the other 167 hours, the other ten thousand minutes, with reverence! With respect! So, my friends, listen,! The world is calling us! Begging us! Pleading! To come! And you and I? We go! We go home!
Watch the service on Facebook.