It's a strange phenomenon that sadly takes place practically every year. We come to the Easter celebration, and churches are filled with people celebrating Christ's resurrection. We sing our festive hymns with large numbers of other Christians, and leave the church building with joy in our hearts as we head off to our family get-togethers.
Then, the following Sunday arrives, and it's not merely business as usual, but it's almost as though many people need a week to recover from Easter. So, what is the solution? Stay home, and don't go worship. Sure, Jesus is alive and has made us right with God. Sure, our eternal life is secured, as is the forgiveness of our sins. But our response is to worship at St. Mattress and St. Pillow alone, rather than going to join our brothers and sisters at our local gathering place.
Now, a little bit of this is understandable. Christmas and Easter tend to be the two holy days where people feel they must make their religious obligations and attend church. Maybe it's to check in with God, or maybe they feel that it's their "duty". And I'm not going to get into that discussion today. The lack of presence of these individuals is something to be expected.
But what about the people who are fairly faithful in their worship time together? Do we so lightly take account of the Lord's day that we fail to recognize that God still does His work through the Gospel message every time we come together? Now, I'm not going to pretend to be some kind of worship Nazi, saying that you have to be there every single week or else. But I will say, what does it say about our faith when we intentionally put ourselves first rather than our time with God and with others?
I'm pretty sure that my thoughts here won't change the minds of any of those who may engage in such behavior. Who knows, there are some who may even read what I write, and then get angry that I even say something about it. It is funny, though, how we get angry at those who remind us that we have done wrong. It's as though we want others to simply overlook our sins and ignore them rather than lovingly to bring them to our attention in order to bring us more in line with what God's will and desires are.
So tomorrow, I will be sharing God's good news once again. I may feel a little let down that all of those people who gathered to hear of Jesus' resurrection aren't there to receive God's gifts again the following week, but that does not stop the proclaiming of God's good news. The message continues to go forth, no matter how many or few may gather together.
Then, the following Sunday arrives, and it's not merely business as usual, but it's almost as though many people need a week to recover from Easter. So, what is the solution? Stay home, and don't go worship. Sure, Jesus is alive and has made us right with God. Sure, our eternal life is secured, as is the forgiveness of our sins. But our response is to worship at St. Mattress and St. Pillow alone, rather than going to join our brothers and sisters at our local gathering place.
Now, a little bit of this is understandable. Christmas and Easter tend to be the two holy days where people feel they must make their religious obligations and attend church. Maybe it's to check in with God, or maybe they feel that it's their "duty". And I'm not going to get into that discussion today. The lack of presence of these individuals is something to be expected.
But what about the people who are fairly faithful in their worship time together? Do we so lightly take account of the Lord's day that we fail to recognize that God still does His work through the Gospel message every time we come together? Now, I'm not going to pretend to be some kind of worship Nazi, saying that you have to be there every single week or else. But I will say, what does it say about our faith when we intentionally put ourselves first rather than our time with God and with others?
I'm pretty sure that my thoughts here won't change the minds of any of those who may engage in such behavior. Who knows, there are some who may even read what I write, and then get angry that I even say something about it. It is funny, though, how we get angry at those who remind us that we have done wrong. It's as though we want others to simply overlook our sins and ignore them rather than lovingly to bring them to our attention in order to bring us more in line with what God's will and desires are.
So tomorrow, I will be sharing God's good news once again. I may feel a little let down that all of those people who gathered to hear of Jesus' resurrection aren't there to receive God's gifts again the following week, but that does not stop the proclaiming of God's good news. The message continues to go forth, no matter how many or few may gather together.
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