“Our church rituals (have) become more about joining the group than changing your life”
(Richard Rohr, On The Threshold of Transformation, p.192)
I’m in the early stages of research for a presentation on the future of the church and this quote has gotten me thinking. Has participating as a member of a church simply evolved into another act of joining a group, another notch on our cultural/social belt, so to speak, similar to joining the Rotary or Lions club? Now, there is nothing wrong with joining a community group. In fact, there are all kinds of data that suggest that this is not only good for the individual, but good for collective society as well. But, I’m thinking about our penchant for joining in order to resume build or a way to meet new people. I realize that, to an extent, this kind of “joining” has always been around. However, I am wondering if after so many decades of emphasizing maximization of our self-interests for economic, and social advantage, that we haven’t marginalized the primary purpose of being part of God’s community by reducing it to a kind of social joining.
When we are part of God’s community, we are not merely “joining” a group. We are being changed by God to be forgiven, grace filled people who think and act in love towards God, towards others, and towards God’s creation. When I join a group, I can easily rationalize coming and going, choosing the events of which I will be a part. Extending that approach to my church could change my understanding of participation in the body of Christ, and the rituals of the church, of worship become simply another act of “joining”.
It is, I’m sure different for everybody, but for me, the older I have gotten, the more I have been drawn to the rituals and the sacraments of the church, the liturgy, the assigned readings for the church year, the special remembrances at services, and even the special services. (The Easter Vigil has become one of the most meaningful services of the year for me). There is a richness there that draws my attention away from myself, away from my shallow tendencies of “joining” and that points me to God’s actions in Christ to change me.
The Preface to Holy Communion that my church has been using this Fall emphasizes God’s creative and sustaining work in our lives and in the world. If we can understand church less as an institution to join, and more as call to change our lives and a response to being changed, how might that impact the future of the church?
The Preface for Holy Communion;
O God triune, how majestic is your name in all the earth.
Over the eons your merciful might evolved our home, a fragile tree of life.
Here by your wisdom are both life and death, growth and decay,
the nest and the hunt, sunshine and storm.
Sustained by these wonders, we creatures of dust join in the ancient song:
The earth is full of your glory: The earth is full of your glory.
O God tune, you took on our flesh in Jesus our healer.
In Christ you bring life from death;
we remember his cross, we laud his resurrection.
Broken like bread, he enlivens our body.
Outpoured like wine, he fills the earth with goodness.
Receiving this mystery, we mortals sing our song:
The earth is full of your glory: The earth is full of your glory.
We praise you for the heart of Jesus,
so filled with your love for this earth.
On the Night before he died, he took bread, and gave thanks,
broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take and eat; this is my body, given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks,
and gave it for all to drink, saying:
This cup is the new covenant in my blood,
shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
Gathered around this table, we your children unite in this song:
The earth is full of your glory: The earth is full of your glory.
O God triune, you create the worlds,
you uphold the living, you embrace the dead.
Send forth your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.
Strengthen us for our journey with this meal,
the body and blood of Christ.
Give us a future that trusts in you and cares for your earth.
Empowered by your promises,
we rise from our deaths to praise you again:
The earth is full of your glory: The earth is full of your glory.
Amen, and amen. Amen and amen.
That is about more than joining. That’s about life changing beliefs.
