Why do you show up for Sunday worship? Bored? Lonely? Peer Pressure? Guilty? Searching? Just need a different space? Want to see friends? Hope to worship God? Hear from God? Fellini’s afterwards?
In his book, Practice Resurrection, Eugene Peterson recently reminded me that at its core, being and doing church goes so far beyond our typical responses:
“Church is an appointed gathering of named people in particular places who practice a life of resurrection in a world in which death gets the biggest headlines: death of nations, death of civilization, death of marriage, death of careers, obituaries without end. Death by war, death by murder, death by accident, death by starvation. Death by electric chair, lethal injection, and hanging. The practice of resurrection is an intentional, deliberate decision to believe and participate in resurrection life, life out of death, life that trumps death, life that is the last word, Jesus life. This practice is not a vague wish upwards but comprises a number of discrete but interlocking acts that maintain a credible and faithful way of life, Real life, a in world preoccupied with death and the devil.” (pg 12)
At the end of the day, we gather and hear the implicit question from Scripture: Will you “Choose life” – and we say, “yes” with all of our heart, mind, body, and soul. That is church. We gather to learn how to let our entire being proclaim that in a death-saturated world, life is springing forth. We gather to learn how to live “resurrection lives” – lives that have been raised from hopelessness, loss, and failure. Lives that have been raised into the way of Jesus – loving, peace-filled, patient, generous, justice-seeking, deeply hopeful. Lives that have been and are being changed.
We gather so that every part of us is a living testimony to the truth that has gripped us: Life has the final word. Holy Spirit is moving. Jesus lives, transforms, and redeems. This is no small thing in light of some of the dark realities of this world.
In short, Church is about being the kind of people whose very essence suggests Life. We gather to grow in that identity.
Does the way you live reflect that hope? Do we as community reflect that hope? What is our ethos? The ‘vibe’ one gets in gathering as community? Another way of asking the question is this: If someone came to Last Call for a month – would they sense that a different, Real hope is living and among us? I give thanks to a God who has blessed us far beyond all we could ask or deserve because I think the answer is ‘yes.’ May we continue to hear the question ‘will you choose life?’ and respond – heart, mind, body, and soul – with ‘yes.’
