What's So Great about Going to Church
The Venerable Joan Clark
Isaiah 6:1-8
“Anybody who goes to church is just plain stupid!”
When I heard him say that I had two immediate responses:
1. The first one was a bit flippant. I thought to myself: “I’m sure that person has in his life-time said some bright things, but that was not one of them.”
2. My second response was more thoughtful. My heart went out to him. I felt sorry for him. I found myself wishing that I could bring him here and let him experience our church.
I wish he could feel the excitement and the joy and the love of the people of St. Stephen’s… I wish he could feel what we feel when we walk into this church… what we feel when we come together as a church family.
I wish he could walk with me on Sunday morning and see what I see…
- Little children rushing with such joy and exhilaration on their faces,
- Cars trying to find a place to park,
- The sides people and greeters welcoming people to church with genuine warmth and affection and kindness,
- Choir members scurrying to the pre-service rehearsal,
-- Worship leaders and Priest working feverishly behind the scenes to make the worship service warm and welcoming and celebrative,
- Church members greeting and hugging each other and reaching out to visitors with love and respect in the Spirit of Christ.
I wish he could hear our music and see people kneeling at this Altar in prayer.
There are so many incredible things, amazing life-changing things. I would like to show him here because (you see) I am convinced that this person has never seen or experienced a church like St. Stephen’s. If he had… then I believe, with all my heart, that his views about the church would be totally different.
You know, of course, that it happens not just to this person but sadly, it happens to all kinds of people. They have a bad experience with some narrow rigid church (or they have no experience first-hand at all with any church)… and “They throw the baby out with the bath water.”
But, this person’s comments do raise a significant question that we need to deal with today, namely this: “Why Go To Church?” What is so great about going to church?
All of us who are members have stood here at this Altar and promised God that we would support the church with our prayers, our presence, our gifts and our service.
Today, we are looking together at that sacred promise to be loyal to the church and support it with our presence, our physical presence, our attendance… so it is fitting that we should take a serious look at this question: “Why Go To Church?”
You see, when it comes to church attendance, good intentions are not enough. We promised God we would be here. We promised God that attending church regularly would be a top priority in our lives and in our schedules.
Some of the early church leaders called it a “holy habit”… and they were onto something because… going to church is a habit and listen, not going to church is a habit… so that’s why those early Christians encouraged us to cultivate the holy habit of making church attendance a top priority. That’s why we reaffirm that view every Sunday with every member.
But, let me ask you something. How are you doing? How are you doing in your church attendance? How faithful are you really in supporting the church with your presence??
Let me put that in perspective by asking you some questions:
If your car would start one out of three times, would you consider it faithful?
If your television worked sixty percent of the time, would you consider it faithful?
If your newspaper delivery person should skip your house every other day and an occasional Friday, would you call that faithful?
If your water cylinder should greet you with cold water three mornings a week, would it be faithful?
If you should fail to come to work five or six days each month, would your employer consider you faithful?
If you should miss a couple of house payments in a year, would your mortgage holder say, “O well, ten out of twelve months, that’s not too bad?”
If you attend church once or twice a month, 25% or 50% of the time, would you say that you’re faithful?
It’s something to think about, isn’t it?
Now, with all of this as a backdrop for our thinking, let me give you my list of three reasons why we go to church; three reasons that explode out of our text for going to church today in Isaiah 6.
In this powerful story, we see Isaiah experiencing the presence of God in the Temple in a life-changing way… and out of that experience, he senses three dramatic things.
1. A Closeness to God.
2. A Compassion for People, and
3. A Call to Ministry…
And that is precisely what worship does for us. It draws us closer to God; it gives us a compassion for other people; and it calls us to ministry.
Let’s take a look at these together… one at a time.
I. FIRST OF ALL, GOING TO CHURCH DRAWS US CLOSER TO GOD.
Isaiah came to church that day and he had one of those mountain-top experiences with God… an experience much too powerful to express in words… an experience that drew him closer than ever to God.
Put that over against this. Do you remember how in the New Testament right after the miracle of Easter, the Risen Lord appeared to the disciples in the Upper Room and they were absolutely “bowled over” by this incredible experience of seeing with their own eyes the Resurrected Christ. He had defeated sin and death, the most amazing miracle of all time, the greatest news of all time… and together as a church, family, the disciples all experienced it… all that is, except Thomas! Thomas missed it for one reason and one reason only. He wasn’t there! He was absent! Now, we know in His grace and compassion, The Risen Lord came back and appeared again later just for Thomas, but, it’s a haunting story, isn’t it? There’s a sermon there somewhere and I think it has to do with this:
- How many great moments with God have you missed?
- How many life-changing moments with God have you missed… simply because you weren’t there,… simply because you were absent from church… simply because you haven’t really made up your mind yet to commit your life to God and the church?
As Isaiah learned many years ago, going to church will draw us closer to God and closer to each other.
II. SECOND, GOING TO CHURCH GIVES US COMPASSION FOR OTHER PEOPLE.
In church that day, Isaiah became concerned about the people. He wanted to reach out and help them. Church at its best makes us more compassionate people.
Statistics show that people who go to church regularly are happier and more satisfied than those who don’t. And regular church-goers live longer, a new study has revealed. Think of that going to church adds years to your life and life to your years.
Regular church-goers are more loving, more generous, more caring, more gracious, more moral, more honest, more accepting of others. They are less-prejudiced, more committed to family life and more involved in working and serving out in the community to improve the quality of life for everybody and especially for the less fortunate.
Why is that? It’s because no institution in the world teaches love and compassion like the church does. Remember that famous Mother Teresa quote. Someone asked her how she could find the strength to work daily with all those needy people. She answered: “I look into their faces and see the eyes of Christ.”
She learned that in church. The church teaches us to see every person we meet as Christ in disguise. The church teaches us that we are not isolated Christians. We are family.
I have here one of my favourite poems. It says it well. Listen to this:
“You cannot pray the Lord’s Prayer and even once say ‘I;’
You cannot pray the Lord’s Prayer and even once say ‘My.’
Nor can you pray the Lord’s Prayer and not pray for another,
For when you pray for daily bread you must include your sister and your brother,
For others are included in each and every plea;
From the beginning to the end of it,
It does not once say ‘Me.’”
Going to church draws us closer to God, and gives us compassion for other people.
III. THIRD AND FINALLY GOING TO CHURCH CALLS US TO MINISTRY… Calls us to serve.
That, too, happened to Isaiah that day long ago. There in church… He felt the tug of God… He realized that a prophet was needed for that time. And he said: “Here Am I, Lord, Send Me!”
Think about it, Jesus did not call a single Priest or Rabbi to be one of His disciples. He called Lay people to help Him do His work… and listen! He is calling you right now. He has a special job that only you can do.
Can you hear His call? And can you say with Isaiah”: “Here am I, Lord, Send me.”
Going to church… supporting the church with our presence… that is so important because: It draws us closer to God; it gives us compassion for others: and it calls us to ministry.