1/25/23
I often find myself standing there with Calvin and Hobbes, contemplating that second crack – especially the closer I get closer to it!
In Act II of Thorton Wilder’s play, Our Town, the Stage Manager says, “You know how it is: you’re twenty–one or twenty–two and you make some decisions; when whisssh! You’re seventy: you’ve been a lawyer for fifty years and that white–haired lady at your side has eaten over fifty–thousand meals with you.”
And then we begin to ask ourselves (along with Calvin), “Have I done anything important? Have I been happy? Have I made the most of these precious few footsteps?”
We all want to spend our lives on something that matters, something that carries weight and has importance, spending our lives on things that are essential. We want “to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life,” as Thoreau wrote in Walden, and not “when I came to die, discover I had not lived.”
Over the last couple of years I’ve preached on the “essentials” of the Christian life, and we’ve studied them on Wednesday nights. They are essential because they are the guide rails that keep us from running off the road. They are essential because they enculturate our Christian faith into our lives. They are essential because Christ practiced them, and we want to be like Christ. They are essential because they ensure that the things we give our lives to will matter for eternity.
As we think about our future as a congregation, and as we approach our annual church meeting (February 19), I believe it’s good to revisit them:
Worship. The most important activity of our week is gathering as a body, celebrating our common faith, sharing together in communion, and hearing from God. Equally important is the daily time we spend, one on one, with God. Some are intimidated by the thought of prayer (and honestly, when we think upon the One to Whom we are praying, it should give us a little cause to pause), but we learned the basic vocabulary of prayer when we were infants. The heart of worship is responding to the grace of God we experience in every aspect of our life by saying, “I love you,” and “please” and “thank you.”
Bible Study. Last week, I wrote how Christ Church was formed as a people committed to learning and living the Word of God, and that means it’s essential we study it. We do that as a group on Sunday mornings and, especially, on Wednesday evenings, but we are also called to be students of the Word as individuals. That’s why we have our annual Bible readings. Right now, we’re spending 6 months reading the New Testament – basically a chapter a day. Some of us are also re–reading the book of Psalms at the same time (the combined amount of reading time is about 12 minutes a day). We read and study to build up our own private Bible encyclopedia in our minds. We read and study so that we know the Story and how that Story shapes who we are right now. We read and study to get the mind of God.
Serve. Jesus said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Matt. 20:28). God’s strategy for changing and healing the world is through his people. As a congregation, we do this through our monthly missions projects. But beyond what we do as a body, if each of us did one act of kindness each day, that would be 5 acts a week, times 52 weeks adding up to 260 acts of kindness a year! Multiply that by every member of our congregation . . .well, you can see how the world can be changed!
Giving. A lot of churches struggle with this, but I’m thankful that Christ Church is a very generous congregation! One of the leaders in my church tradition said that if a pastor has to preach on giving, he’s got some other serious problems in his or her church! People who love God will give and give generously to see the work of God carried on. There’s a clear connection between the relationship we have with our money and possessions and our spiritual lives, as Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:21). We give to our congregation because giving is an important way of showing our love for God and for God’s work, and it’s an important way of saying to God, “I trust you for my future.” But beyond giving to the church, we’re called to use our resources for the benefit of others in need.
Witness. This is maybe the scariest sounding one, but it really shouldn’t be, because we already talk about what we love. We share on social media photos of our trips, our meals, our grandkids. The simplest way to share your faith is on Facebook! Share comments about your faith, posts from Christ Church, insights you’ve gained from our services, or simply invite someone to visit. It’s not complicated – you don’t have to be taught how to talk about Alabama (or the Other Place) football, nor do you need special training to talk about your faith. We talk about what we love.
That’s it. These are what we call the essentials – 5 key practices (and that word, “practice,” is key!) that if we do them regularly – if we practice them the same way a pianist practices scales every day – these essentials will become a normal part of our lives, and will not only shape our lives, but also the world around us. When we make these a part of our lives, we won’t have to worry about “Have I done anything important? Have I been happy? Have I made the most of these precious few footsteps?” Our lives will be lived following the example of Jesus. Which is the point.
Blessings,
Pastor Terry