Deep Wells

I recently read an article in the Atlantic that pointed out that over the last 25 years, around 40 million Americans stopped attending church. Some for legitimate reasons: corrupt religious leaders, sexual abuse in the Catholic church, embarrassment of how some denominations have allowed themselves to become political pawns. However, the vast majority of people who stopped coming weren’t angry. They weren’t upset. They said they simply got out of the habit of doing so. There are a million other things on our plates. We have travel sports leagues and business deadlines, and all kinds of entertainment options, you name it… It’s endless.

Sometimes worship can feel like just one more thing… But is it just one more thing? 

I was thinking about a Sunday in church when I gave a rock to each person as they came in. The rocks were symbolic. They represented a burden that was being carried, a worry or a concern, or a fear being held on to. And near the end of the service, we all came forward and left our rocks on the table, our burdens at the feet of Jesus…. And I remember looking at the table, the huge pile of rocks. Each one of us had at least something. (Some of us felt we were carrying a pile of those rocks!) So often we can feel alone in life, but this was a reminder to me, I’m not alone…

I also think about how on a Sunday, when we sing together or pray together out loud…. Sometimes I’ll sit silently during the Lord’s prayer even just for a line or two and listen to everyone praying, voices of faith all around me – and it’s powerful… I even think about those moments of sitting in silence together… there is bonding, and we become aware of God’s creative presence here and now…

I think about how a few weeks ago at Vacation Bible School, we were singing the last song of the day, and two third-grade girls came running up to me “Pastor Joe, Pastor Joe, look!” And they showed me how the crosses we drew on our hands earlier glowed when a light was shined on them. They were so excited, “Look at Jesus’ light!” And Monica, one of the leaders turned to me and said, “That’s why we do this, isn’t it?” There is a deeper joy in giving… There is a deeper joy in being a part of something bigger than ourselves…

We don’t have to look far to see there are these deep wells all around us…

Whether you worship in person or online, may you come to see the gift that it is. It is a re-centering of heart and mind. It is a gathering of broken souls seeking healing. And it is a reminder of who we are and whose we are. 

Let us pray: Holy God, As we sit in your presence, even now, we recognize we are at the water’s edge. Fill in us those places of longing, those places of hurt, those feelings of inadequacy. Wash over us with your grace… Amen.