Reflections on Worship, March 2

How good it was to worship with so many of you on Sunday morning. And how good to be greeting in the morning with sunshine, instead of grey skies or rain or snow. And how exciting to see so many young people join us.

It goes without saying that it was good to have Brooks with us, sharing so joyously from his talents. He came in over the weekend partially to visit, but mostly to help with the preparations for the upcoming services, especially during Holy Week. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that he’s excited about the services (isn’t Brooks almost always excited?). I’m excited too. I think it will be a meaningful time for us. I hope that you will seriously consider joining us at these services. I think it is important for the church to join Jesus on the Holy Week journey from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday.

Anyway, I am listening to Sunday’s sermon as I’m typing up this entry. Several of you had favorable comments about the sermon, which is heartening; regardless of how I respond to any sermon, the point is to offer spiritual food for everybody in the congregation. And I believe that if I do my job prayerfully and faithfully, this will occur.

If I could have altered Sunday’s sermon, I would have explored the “Godfather” and “God the Father” comparison more. I should confess that this example suddenly came to me as I was getting into bed on Saturday night, so I didn’t have as much time to think it through as I might. (That’s not an excuse, just an explanation.) The comparison, especially concerning repentance, is striking. One is allowed to come to God, hat in hand, for a favor without God expecting anything else. But, after this first step on our faith journeys, how the relationship deepens. And as often as we ask God for favors, God in return asks us for things. Of course, this does not happen as an explicit exchange (‘if you want me to help your sick friend, you will donate an amount of money to the church’). But God reminds us that he has walked with us, has forgiven us, has loved us, and asks that we act according to our recognition of these things: feed my sheep, love one another, love your enemies, forgive each other, etc.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian, wrote a book called The Cost of Discipleship while he was suffering persecution under the Nazis. It is an open question how much “discipleship” costs us. Grace is free; it comes with no strings attached. But God certainly has expectations and hopes for each of us. Well, we can explore that more deeply some other time.