Hello,
I just returned from New York City, having attended and hosted a wedding reception for my son who lives in Brooklyn. It’s kind of a long story, but this wedding celebration has been kind of a long story, too. My son married a gal in New York who is from China and whose parents live there. So, when they decided to get married, they had a simple ceremony in New York in December, had a family ceremony in China in February, and had a reception for New York friends last weekend. It has been great being able to expand the wonder of their love across continents and across months.
Anyway, the reception wasn’t until Saturday evening, so that left us some time to wander around New York. We went to see the 9/11 memorial, which is a moving sight, and then from there we went to have lunch from where we could see the statue of liberty. When we got to the place where we were to have lunch, I was floored! Thousands, and thousands of people …lined up for at least 10 and maybe even 12 blocks, lines six or eight wide. Moving at a snail’s pace. It was amazing.
Fortunately, they were not lined up to go to the restaurant that we were heading for. They were lined up to catch to boat to take them out to the Statue of Liberty so they could stand in its shadow and get a close look at it. From the looks of it, they might be standing in line for days…maybe even months. As I saw that line….and could see the Statue of Liberty from afar…I wondered, “what is motivating these people to wait in such a line?” Personally, I can’t imagine what it would be.
Interestingly enough, I have not seen such lines extending out the doors of churches. Oh sure, older folks tell me of the days that you had to be at church 45 minutes early to get “your” seat, but those days are long gone and so is the societal motivation that seems to have driven that phenomena. With the exception of some, most churches have “immediate seating”, and I have often joked with folks as I have met them outside, “Better hurry in so you will get a seat!”
As much as it is a mystery to me as to why folks would stand in lines winding their way through the streets of New York City like a enormous boa constrictor, it is likewise a mystery to me why such lines to not form at churches on Sunday morning. And this is the reason why: inside the church are the people of God, whom Jesus says he has empowered with a love to love and be loved that is found nowhere else in the world….the love of the divine laying down his life. So, there is the mystery, if that is the kind of love that is given, felt, found, and embraced inside the doors of every church, why isn’t there a line extending blocks long trying to get it? Wouldn’t you want to be lifted up in that kind of love? Who wouldn’t?
Here’s my answer; the wrong message has gotten out. The message that has gotten out of what is offered inside churches is the makings of good people. The church is a place where good people go, where good people gather together, where good people ride on their high horses of goodness looking down on the worms of the world. I don’t know how that became the message that the world seems to hear about Christianity, but that certainly is not the message that Jesus, the Christ, is speaking.
Remember, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem, he didn’t ride in on a mighty stallion, he rode in on a donkey…and animal of humility and compassion. Remember, when Jesus hung on the cross, he didn’t condemn those who had nailed him there, he said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” Remember, when Jesus met lepers, who no one else would go near, he would touch them. Remember, when a woman caught in adultery was thrown in front of Jesus, he didn’t throw stones at her. He freed her from her misery.
No church is a perfect witness and expression of the kind of love that Jesus fills it with because every church is full of sinners, but Jesus does fill every church that bears his name, with that kind of love. So, if you are tired of putting up with the kind of love that the world has to offer, love that is fragile and does not last, let me invite you to an orchard producing fruits of love that do not rot, that do not poison, that do not wither….the orchard that grows in churches filled with divine, self-giving love. And by the way, if there’s a line blocks long to get in……believe me, it is worth the wait!
Have a great week,
God’s grace and peace, (ggap)
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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