Some years ago, two signs were posted on the
gates of the Anglican cathedral: in Winnipeg, Canada, "The Anglican Church
Welcomes You" and "The Premises are Protected by Guard Dogs."[1]
Churches easily send mixed messages about
welcoming people. But mixed messages cannot explain the dramatic decline in church
attendance since the 1960s. Illustratively, Sunday attendance at Holy Nativity over
the last sixty years has declined from 2000 to about 100. Dire prognostications
even suggest that US church attendance this century will approach zero.
Nostalgically yearning for the good old days
of full pews is a common reaction to declining attendance. Feeling depressed
about the state of the church is another understandable response.
Instead of nostalgia or depression, ponder
why people, including yourself, attend church. Whether you came voluntarily or
were dragged here by a family member or friend, what benefit can you expect to gain?
To answer that question, consider the big picture, not the details, of today’s gospel.[2]
Crowds of people flocked to see and hear
John the Baptist and then Jesus. Obviously, in an era long before radio or
television, curiosity drew some people. Others came because they wanted to be part
of what was happening. Neither factor motivates many people to attend worship today.
John and Jesus’ initial and most loyal followers
had one or more of four motives, each instructive for congregations that would
grow today.
First, people gathered around John and Jesus
longing to experience God. In both men, hearers discerned a charism, a gift or
presence, that they wanted for themselves. People especially remembered, and
probably exaggerated, Jesus’ miracles because they perceived what happened as a
manifestation of God’s powerful presence. In time, the identification of Jesus
with God’s presence became so complete that people described Jesus as fully
human and fully God.
In my first parish, I was surprised that an
atheist who taught math at a nearby community college became a regular
attendee. At first, he attended occasionally with his family. Then his
attendance increased as our friendship grew. Ultimately, he found Sunday
worship a time to search for answers to his questions about God. He was like
the those who flocked to John and Jesus, and like many of us, attending because
we hope to encounter God. Good worship helps people to center themselves and to
contemplate the mystery of God’s presence and God’s otherness, God’s love and
God’s justice.
Second, John and Jesus attracted listeners interested
in understanding the meaning of life. The circumstances of first century Jewish
life were generally much more depressing than are empty pews. No independent
Jewish state existed. Most Jews eked out a subsistence lifestyle. Yet the
Jewish scriptures incongruously described an Almighty God who had chosen the
Jews as God’s favored people. John’s call to repent of sin presumed that Roman
domination was God’s punishment for Jewish sins.
Today, less than a quarter of Americans
believe life has any meaning. Accumulating research, however, shows that people
who live with a sense of purpose enjoy better health and thrive more abundantly
than do people who live without a sense of purpose. [3] The
cosmic meaning of life is frustratingly elusive. Nevertheless, you can discover
the meaning of your individual life by developing a clear vision of personal
purpose, a sense of who and what God is calling you to be and do in 2018. Do
this by focusing on your education, talents, interests, skills, and personality
as well as your personal awareness of God. Living into one’s personal purpose
is the best New Year’s resolution anyone can make.
Third, people flocked to John and to Jesus
because they heard a clarion call to action, empowering them with hope for
improving the world, or at least their little part of it. Jewish and Romans
elites opposed both John, whom they beheaded, and Jesus, whom they crucified,
because these elites believed John and Jesus represented threats to the
established order.
While the audience takes their seats for a
symphony concert, the musicians “tune up.” Each player does his or her
"own thing," hearing how they sound, ignoring the other musicians. The
result is cacophony. Only when the conductor leads do the individuals blend
into a greater, and sometimes wondrous, musical whole. Individually, few if any
of us can improve the world, or even our neighborhood. But working together we
can make a difference, and other people will want to join us. [4]
Congregations actively involved in mission, locally and globally, grow.
Finally, people followed John or Jesus
because they, like us, wanted to be part of something greater than themselves.
Humans thrive in community, yet isolation and loneliness doggedly and
continuously plague us. Jesus followers were so committed to him and to one another that they formed a new community, the Church, which Christians believe is the in-breaking of the fullness of God's vision into the world. Sadly, the Church often falls short of that vision.
A recovering alcoholic’s story is
instructive. He pointedly observed “that, after his life-changing experience in
Alcoholics Anonymous, his local church was unbearable. ‘After I had at last
been part of a real community where we loved each other enough to be honest, to
sacrifice our time and energy to aid others in their struggle with alcohol, the
sweet superficiality of my church was repulsive. When I tried to share with
them some of the insights gained from my own struggles, they looked at me like
I was crazy, like my struggle was a purely personal problem.’”[5]
Come, then, and follow the example of those who flocked to
John the Baptist and to Jesus. Come and commit yourselves to sharing a weekly meal
together, united in the hope that God is present; come and learn to discern God’s
specific call for you as individuals, while concurrently, confidently, and
collectively welcoming all as you work to move the world closer to God’s
vision. Amen.
[Sermon preached at the Church of the Holy
Nativity, Honolulu, HI, on the Baptism of Our Lord, January 7, 2018]
[1] Richard
Lederer, More Anguished English (New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell
Publishing Group, Inc., 1993).
[2] Mark
1:4-11.
[3] Dhruv
Khullar, “Finding Purpose for a Good Life.
But Also a Healthy One.” New York Times, January 1, 2018, citing Kobau,
R., Sniezek, J., Zack, M. M., Lucas, R. E. and Burns, A. (2010), Well-Being
Assessment: An Evaluation of Well-Being Scales for Public Health and Population
Estimates of Well-Being among US Adults. Applied Psychology: Health and
Well-Being, 2: 272–297. doi:10.1111/j.1758-0854.2010.01035.x.
[4] Garret
Keizer, "Reasons to join," Christian Century, April 22, 2008,
31
[5] Thomas
H. Naylor, William H. Willimon, and Magdalena R. Naylor, The Search for
Meaning (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994), 209.
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