Part 2 of 2
Quick Recap
Last month, we talked about what the word sacred means, as compared to holy. There are sacred spaces, places that are set aside for the work of the holy, and places where God can transcend into our reality. There are sacred callings or vocations, which are set aside for those given the privilege of serving God throughout their lives. And then we discussed the secular and the mundane, and how that worldview often leads to the church becoming just another commodity among many. It is this idea that the church is something as commonplace as the decision of which restaurant to go to for Sunday lunch that affects the Sacred Journey that every believer is called to. And, it plays itself out in the spiritual and financial health of the community of believers.
Sacred Journey
Charles Spurgeon is quoted as saying, “If I had never joined a church till I had found one that was perfect, I should never have joined one at all.”
In a quote that is complementary to Spurgeon’s quote, Billy Graham is credited with saying, “If you find a perfect church, don’t join it: you’d spoil it.”
These two quotes work in conjunction with one another, in that they both point out that the Church has become a commodity in the minds of so many people (“Church Shopping,” anyone?). We don’t want to join a church because they don’t have the programs for children that we want, or they don’t have enough Bible Studies, or the music is offensive or too loud, or they use video screens, or whatever else. People will often drive hours just to find the right fit, just to find the right amenities that they believe they need in order to attend.
I once lived next to a man who seemed to change churches regularly. He would find a church, fall in love with every aspect of the church, start attending, and tell all his neighbors about how he had found the perfect church. Then he would begin volunteering at the church, getting involved in all the things he enjoyed doing. Things would be good for a while. Right up until something happened that he disagreed with. Whatever the reason was, if people didn’t heed his advice, he became angry. But rather than finding a way to reconcile with the leaders or other members of the church, he would instead start dividing people into those who agreed with him, and those who didn’t, and in the end, he would leave the church, often taking a sizable portion of the congregation with him to a new perfect church.
This sort of journey is anything but sacred.
Last month I mentioned that the Church teaches that everyone is a minister, according to 1 Peter 2:9, which says that “you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” That is, all people are called to serve God and to make God known – and that is the excitement of the Sacred Journey. Because it is in the pursuit of this sacred journey that we find life, and life abundant.
I’m sure most everyone has heard the words of John F. Kennedy at his inaugural address in 1961: ‘Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” JFK was trying to get people to make sacrifices to commit to the larger vision of the country. Sacrifice requires a commitment. It serves something larger than ourselves, a goal and vision that is beyond what we can accomplish on our own. For Christians it means that everyone works together to accomplish this shared vision of proclaiming the excellence of him who called us out of darkness.
If we never join a church until we find the perfect church. Or, if we find the perfect church, and then try to change it (and thereby ruin it), then we are not making any sacrifices. Not joining a church means we don’t want to sacrifice our comfort, or the amenities that we believe we need. Or, if we do find a church, we may not want to sacrifice anything for the greater good, and instead want to push our own agenda. In both cases, we are looking at the church as something that is supposed to serve us, our desires, and our needs. And so the real question to ask ourselves is: Do I believe that the Church – and by extension, God – serves me?
I think we can all agree that there is no such thing as a perfect church, because the church consists of people. And none of us is perfect. In fact, each of us brings our own baggage with us when we go to a church. As Jesus himself said, “I have come not for the righteous, but sinners” (Luke 5:32). That is, the church is a place where those who are far from God can enter into the Sacred Journey of transformation, as their lives change ever more into the likeness of God from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:18). It is this invitation to enter into this journey of discovery and transformation that makes the Church a place of solace for those seeking God. And it is this journey of transformation that can only happen when we are willing to go to an imperfect church, and to not try and change that imperfect church to meet our needs. This sort of sacrifice is what builds the spiritual and financial health of any church.
There’s an old saying: “People vote with their wallets or their feet.” If people believe in a cause, they will show up, they will volunteer, and they will put effort into furthering the vision. If people do not have the time, they will vote with their wallet, giving money to support the cause that they believe in. Among clergy, this phrase is used to explain why there are people in the pews, and money in the plate. Or, the flip side, it is used to explain why people are leaving, and why people are not giving. The problem with the statement above is the word vote. Because it very much expresses the same sentiment as the idea of church shopping for the perfect church.
At the start of the Eucharistic Prayers, we say the following prayer as we bless the offering: “Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation; through your goodness we present to you these tithes and offerings, which out of your abundance you have given to us. May we see them as our sacrifice to you, filled with hope and possibility for the work of the church and the furthering of your kingdom.” And then the priest says, “Pray, my siblings, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to Almighty God.” If we’re really lucky, the priest will also have said the offering statement from Romans 12:1, which says, “I appeal to you, siblings, by the mercies of God, to present yourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
These prayers, and these offertory statements are intended to get us thinking of how all that we do should be in the service of God, rather than the other way around. We seek how we can be of service to God, and how we can continue the work of God’s kingdom, rather than looking for something that is a perfect fit.
The church is a sacred space, the clergy are serving in a sacred calling, and all who attend are on a sacred journey, seeking to be transformed ever more into the likeness of God from one degree of glory to another – even when things aren’t perfect.
[This article was originally published in the St. Alban’s Church monthly newsletter for December.]
