Hello,
I was driving into the parking lot of one of those large lumber/hardware
stores, and as I turned off of the street my eyes spotted a young man, a
teenager, standing on the corner looking as if this was the last place that he
wanted to be. He, along with his
mother, was selling sub-sandwiches for his high school band. His lack of exuberance may have been
that it was sprinking; or it may have been that he was standing next to his
mother (how uncool!); or it maybe it was his parent’s idea for him to be in the
band…but my guess is that the reason for his discontent was that it was a
Saturday and the time was 8:30 a.m.
I am not sure how many sub-sandwiches he sold. He certainly didn’t sell any sandwiches by virtue of his
enthusiasm. Maybe he sold some
sandwiches out of the pity that people felt for his deflated spirit.
I’ve seen the same look on others before, too. I have seen that same look on the faces of young and old
alike as I stand in the pulpit and look out on the congregation. Just like that sub-sandwich selling
band member, I don’t know for sure what creates such disdain in their spirit as
they stand in church. Who
knows? Maybe they are being forced
by parents to be in church. Maybe
it is that they are standing next to parents or strange people. Maybe it is because on a scale of 1-10,
the boredom rating they would give of church is sub-sero. Maybe it is that they think that this
whole Christian thing is a bunch of hooey. Or maybe because it is Sunday morning.
I remember feeling that flat affect as I stood in church in my teen
years – feeling like that was the last place in the world that I wanted to be, a
feeling generated by many of the reasons I imagine filling the “living dead”
that I see from the pulpit. I had
a hard time understanding the verse from the Bible, “I was glad when they said
unto me, ‘Let us go into the house of the LORD.’”
Believe it or not, even pastors find themselves feeling like being in
church on Sunday morning is the last place that they want to be; at least this pastor has felt that
way. Not all the time, but there
have been times. Even pastors deal
with the same thing that non-pastors do: the ridicule of the world for the
faith that we hold, the questions and doubts that haunt, the torrid pace of
life that would welcome rest, the draw of sporting events, the freedom from
obligation.
So, why do I go to church, every Sunday. The answer is not because I am a pastor and I have to be
there (although that is true). The
reason is this: God has invited me to his house because he wants to spend some personal
time with me. God has invited me
even if I am full of doubts and questions. God has invited me even if I think I am better than everyone
else in the building. God has
invited me even if I think spending time with him is boring. God has invited me even if there is
some great sporting event going on.
God has invited me even if I am tired and worn out. God has invited me even if I would
relish a respite from obligation and commitment. God has invited me even if I am mad or furious with
God. There are smaller reasons
that I go to church every Sunday, but the main reason is this: God has invited me to his house because
he wants to spend some personal time with me.
God want me to spend time
with him, free from the noise and commotion of the world, so that God can speak
his forgiveness, saying to me, “The world may always remember and measure you
for your errors, blunders and sins…but I will not….I will remember and measure
you for who you are….the one who bears my name, my child. The world may shine a light on you when
you are a success…but I will not…my light always shines on you because you are
the apple of my eye. The world may
tell you that how much you believe in me is the most important thing….but I
will not…how much I believe in you is far more important. God wants to tell me and show me
that there is nothing in all of creation that can separate me from his love in
Christ Jesus.” Free from the noise
of the world, God invites me to his house because God wants to spend some
personal time with me.
And so I go to church….every Sunday….whether I was a pastor or not. Sometimes when I leave church my
spirits are lifted….sometimes they are not drastically changed. Sometimes when I leave church, the
sermon has moved me in a new
direction(I don’t only preach to the people in the pew…I preach to me,
too.)…and sometimes the sermon wraps me in what I have already heard. Sometimes when I leave church I say, “I
was glad to have been there, today.”….and sometimes I say, “Same old, same old.” But every time I leave church, I leave
with these words, words that have permeated the time that I have spent in
church, “The LORD bless you and keep you. The LORD make his face to shine upon
you. The LORD look upon you with
favor and give you his peace.”
God invites me…and you…to his house every Sunday morning because he wants
to spend personal time with you and me….and when we leave, God blesses us and
says, “Thanks…thanks for coming.”
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace,
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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