Vol 5 No 33 - Where Are You?

The body does not lie.  Ethically and theologically, we are not where we put our good intentions; we are where we put our bodies. - Thomas G. Long, Accompany Them with Singing: The Christian Funeral

In what I believe was a bit of divine intervention, I came across the above quote while reading Dr. Long's work this afternoon.  I say it was divine intervention because I dived into this book after spending most of the morning and early afternoon finalizing the preaching and worship schedule for the rest of the year.

What do the two have to do with each other?  Absolutely everything.  To be a Christian means to take seriously the need to worship together regularly, rejecting the individualistic self-centeredness of America's national religion - Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.  To be a Christian means that we make a priority in our lives our shared journey as people of the resurrection.  To be a Christian means that we do not merely say with our mouths that being a part of the church is important to us; we put our money where our mouth is by being present.

This fall, we will celebrate the sacrament of Baptism, where through water and the Spirit Christ leaves his indelible mark on those whom he knew before they were formed in the womb.  We will celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion, where we will join the church - past, present, and future - in the sacred privilege of dining together at our Lord's invitation.  We will celebrate the joy of people joining the Kingdom of God by professing their faith.  We will celebrate the reaffirmation of our membership vows and commit to another year of upholding the ministry of this congregation.  We will be witnesses to the work of God through the grace of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit in ways we cannot possibly imagine.

And we will be all the richer for these things.  

As we go into this fall, let us covenant together once again to not miss out on any of it.  We can say with our mouths that our intentions are good, and even delude ourselves into believing that, but the fact of the matter remains that where we are present says more than anything else.

God has not called us to be a community of worship by accident or just to give us something to do.  Let's be sure to not miss what is in store for us because we have been deluded into believing otherwise.

See You Sunday!

Lamar