Why Church?

In the American life we account for our lifestyle, time, money and energy meticulously to fit our life’s goals and needs. In this way of life every minute is important and every penny is precious, especially when resources are scarce, jobs are unpredictable and sometimes sickness hits us and everything turns upside down. To fit church in our life is a challenge. And yet for some church is not negotiable and Sunday morning means church. These folks do not have any more time than the rest of us have. For them also, a day has only 24 hours like it does for the rest of us. Why this uncompromised dedication for worship? Because of the following reasons:

First, our spiritual sensibility is awakened at church during worship. Prayers, music, word of God, and each others faces inspire us for another week of life in this challenging world. When we grow in our knowledge of God and Christ it deepens our spiritual strength.

Secondly, at baptism followed by confirmation, we have given our word to God that we will always be the body of Christ, to be together with a community to witness to God’s love. Thus being together with God and with one another is a statement we are making to the world that God is our refuge and strength. We reject the wickedness of the world and come back to God visibly for everyone to see. This is what church is all about.

Thirdly, the church has been given a task by Jesus to serve the poor, sick and needy. In order to be in mission and to serve we need to be together. We need to be a body. Sporadic attendance on Sunday morning does not help. We need to be regular and every Sunday people. Otherwise we cannot do any worthwhile mission.

Finally, we cannot be Christians alone as individuals detached from the community in which we were baptized. We do not follow Christ alone, we follow Christ with those who have been baptized in the same name. This is a challenging and complicated world, we need one another to help, support and to walk together. This will keep us humble and we will have the strength of a village.

This is why for some, Sunday morning means church. They are not fools. They please God. Pleasing God is the greatest privilege one can have. And besides, these kinds of folks only have kept the church alive for 2,000 years. Grace be with you.