Why should I bother with church? (Pt 2)

 
In the last edition of the Parish Link I began to answer the question ‘Why bother with church?’ I suggested that one of the reasons we go to church is for a spiritual experience or a rich moment. While it is true that we might experience something ‘spiritual’ in a variety of places, if it is an encounter with God we are looking for, the most obvious and tested routes are reading the Bible and praying, public worship and the sacraments, and conversation with other believers.
However I think we go to church not simply to meet with God. Meeting with the church family, praying, and learning together are means by which we are moulded and transformed.

Gathering

When the church meets for worship it also meets together. All ages and backgrounds gather together as one people. Churches can be divided it is true. But as often they are like the rainbow nation that Nelson Mandela dreamed of. In my experience there are very few places in society in which people choose to be together but are more mixed than a local congregation. But we are also reminded of those who are not with us. Some have died, some are sick, some have never been invited. When the church is truest to itself it is not self-absorbed but concerned for others. Week by week we learn this together.

Confessing

In our worship services we pause and admit our failings and faults. We make confession; knowing that we have sinned but may be forgiven. So regularly we face up to our pride, our selfishness, our lust, our weaknesses. But we can face them knowing that God will cleanse and heal us. Dare we do that outside God's loving relationship?

Listening

We listen to God's Word in Scripture; we stop our own thinking and try and absorb some new truth. It is often said learning is lifelong. Week by week we are opening ourselves up to new thoughts and to a deeper understanding of ourselves and to revelation from above. There is no place for a know-it-all in church there is always more to learn.

Interceding

When we pray well we're thinking deeply about other people's needs and God's mercy. Our concern and love can touch people well beyond our reach. We maintain connections with the long-running and unresolved situations in the world and in people's lives. We learn patience and  perseverance.

Sharing peace

Being close to other people is not always easy. But Jesus taught us to make peace. Whenever we look into someone's eyes and say the liturgical words ‘Peace be with you’ we have to mean it. We have to forgive. We have to begin again.

Sharing communion

At every communion service we stand (or kneel together) and receive. It is very hard to many people to receive-we'd much rather be the givers. But around the communion table we are all the same. We simply receive. We learn to be humble together.

Being sent out

At the end of worship we are commissioned afresh for service. Worship is an end in itself. But it is not the end of our life. What we have received we must share. And so deliberately, we are told to ‘go out into the world to love and to serve the Lord’. Our life is not all about us – it is about what we can do for God and for others.
So ‘going to church’ re-makes us. It is like a gymnasium for the spirit. We don't expect physical exercise to be easy; it is the the resistance that builds fitness. So we should expect church to be tough at times, it may be that God will use it to change our hearts.