January 25, 2004, Number 3 of 7 in the Series: FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

The "Frequently Asked Question" before us this morning is: "Why do I need to go to church?" This is a question which is perhaps raised more often in our day than in earlier generations.

The mind set can be summarized in the following way: "I am a Christian . . . I was raised as a Christian. I try to live my life with good Christian values . . . and I might say that I do a pretty good job of it. But there are so many other things I can do on Sunday mornings. It is the only day I can sleep in. It is the only day I can do some shopping in peace. The kids are often involved in sports on Sunday morning, and it's the best day for me to go golfing or to the gym. So going to church is a very poor use of my valuable time. And, let's be honest — the church is a drag . . . and all those people; I have to deal with people all week. My time is just too precious. I believe that I can be a good Christian without going to church. And, I can worship anywhere, anytime. I think of myself as spiritual, but not religious. So, why do I need to go to church?"

Well, there is absolutely no compelling reason why you should go to church, unless, unless — you are a Christian. And, if you are a Christian, then there is no other place for you to be. Authentic Christian faith is a communal faith; it must be lived out within a community of other believers.

"Why do I need to go to church?" Because it is one of the commandments of God.

"Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God." Exodus 20.8-9.

The word "Sabbath," in the original Hebrew, has no religious content. It simply means: "quit, stop, take a break." Whatever you are doing, stop it. Whatever you are saying, shut up. Sit down and take a look around you. Don't do anything. Don't say anything. Fold your hands. Take a deep breath.

The commandment to observe a Sabbath day has, as a context, God's act of creation. The Lord, God, labored for six days creating the heavens and the earth, and then God stopped; stopped creating, stopped speaking. So the Sabbath takes place in the context of much doing. So too, we are commanded to rest; to come to a stop in the midst of much doing.

The biblical translator Eugene Peterson reflects on the necessity of the Sabbath commandment when he writes:

"If there is no Sabbath — no regular and commanded not-working, not-talking — we become totally absorbed in our own doing and saying, and God's work is either forgotten or marginalized. When we work we are most god-like, which means that it is in our work that it is easiest to develop god-pretensions. Our work becomes the context in which we define our lives. We loose God-consciousness, God-awareness. We loose the capacity to sing 'This is my Father's world' and end up singing little ditties about what we are doing and feeling."

We honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy by stopping what we normally do and focus on what God has done and is doing. We must shut up long enough to hear what God has said and is saying. That is what worship is about — centering ourselves on what God has done, is doing and will do. The commandment to observe the Sabbath codifies the spiritual truth that without silence and stillness there is no spirituality, no God-attentive, God-responsive life is possible.

"Why do I need to go to church?" Because we need to praise God if we are to be formed into the people of God.

There is a wonderful Hassidic story about a tailor who comes to his rabbi and says: "Rabbi, I have a problem with my prayers. If someone comes to me and says, 'Mendel, you're a wonderful tailor,' that makes me feel good. I feel appreciated. I can go on feeling good for a whole week, maybe longer, on the strength of one compliment like that. But if people came to me every day, one after another, hour after hour, and kept saying to me 'Mendel, you're a wonderful tailor,' over and over again, it would drive me crazy. I would get to the point that I would not want to listen to them anymore. I would tell them to go away and let me do my work in peace. This is what bothers me about prayer. It seems to me that if we told God how wonderful He is once a week, even once every few weeks, and just one or two of us at a time, that's all He would need. Is God so insecure that He needs us praising him every day? Three times a day, morning, noon and night? Hundreds of people praising him? It seems to me it would drive Him crazy."

The rabbi smiled and said, "Mendel, you're absolutely right. You have no idea how hard it is for God to listen to all of our praises, hour after hour, day after day. But God knows how important it is for US to utter that praise, so in His great love for us, He tolerates all of our prayers."

God does not need our flattery, but we need to be the sort of people who are aware of the presence of God and who are mindful and grateful for the blessings of God.

"Why do I need to go to church?" Because without worship in the church of Jesus Christ, the truth is, that we don't stand a ghost of a chance of living faithful lives as Christians.

Back in the early 1960's, in the midst of the civil rights movement in our nation, bus loads of well intentioned young men and women full of idealism, often from college campuses, went out to personally enter the struggle for racial justice. Many of these activities in which they were involved, for example, voter registration drives in the rural South, were organized by religious organizations. Typically they would have these young workers sit down in a field or in a church hall or sanctuary, and for one or two hours, they would preach to them about the righteousness of their cause and the faithfulness of God. Often the students would ask: "Is this really necessary? We are committed to the cause. Wouldn't it be better to just put us to work?"

The answer they got is instructive for us:

"Son, when you get out there on the front lines of the struggle, and you confront evil, face to face, you will need more than your puny little faith. You will need the faith that enabled Moses to march up to Pharaoh and demand 'Let my people Go!' You will need the faith of the Christian martyrs. You will need the faith of the church of Jesus Christ."

When we unite as the church, we strengthen our puny little faith and we put on the armor of God.

When we unite as the church, we share experiences of joy and sorrow, excitement and remembrance; we disciple ourselves and learn from and encourage one another.

When we unite as the church, we gather with others who believe as we do, to strengthen and under-gird our own faith.

When we unite as the church, we are reminded of the things that are most important in the broad scheme of life.

When we unite as the church, we remember that we are the very people God has chosen to create a society of peace, love and wholeness.

When we unite as the church, we add strength to our beliefs and we magnify our ability to feed the hungry and to reach out to those whose days are a struggle and those who are trying to find meaning in their lives.

When we unite as the church, we lock arms and hearts and minds and understand more deeply that we are a people with a mission, a purpose, and a task on earth that is greater than our selves.

When we unite as the church, we receive again and again God's call to be and to do wonderful, transforming things for this world in the name of God.

Thanks be to God for this HOLY PRIVILEGE! AMEN!

Eldon J. Simpson, Pastor