Why Go To Church (Part 1) – Celebration

Texts: 2 Samuel 6:12 – 15 and Nehemiah 8:1b – 10

It is good to be back. Thank you for sending me to help lead worship last Sunday at First Congregational UCC in Elkhart. Together we celebrated the ministry of Anne Cubbage who has a new call to ministry in Massachusetts. There was singing, reading of scripture, teaching, exhortations, more singing, and dancing. It was a beautiful, if not a bittersweet, celebration. The air was electric with emotions and the presence of God was palpable.

I remember thinking, “This is a special celebration for a special time in this community. It is right that we are pulling out all the stops to make this a memorable occasion.” But then I began thinking. I walked into the church service anticipating being intensely engaged – emotionally and spiritually. And I was. I was fully present for what was happening. I know that this level of engagement is special and periodic, but I think there’s more to our weekly worship service than we give credit.

Every week we gather to be in the presence of God together. Every week we call upon the Holy Spirit within us in prayer and in praise. Every week we re-engage our intention to be followers of Jesus in a world that is rife with greed, exclusion, oppression, and violence. Coming to church is no small thing. Do we come to church every week anticipating a heightened engagement with our God? Why do we come to church? Have you ever asked yourself that question? Why do we take the time Sunday morning to come to church (or to tune in on the radio)?

I have a couple of ideas. Some reasons we come to church …

To Worship God
For Fellowship in our Faith
To Mark Time in Our Lives
For Motivation in our Christian Walk
To Celebrate our Relationship with God

Today we are going to talk about coming to church to celebrate.

In the scripture passages we read, we heard about special days of celebration. Miriam led the women in dancing and singing after they were saved by God while fleeing from the Egyptians. David danced before God while bringing the Ark of the Covenant into The City of David. Ezra read the book of the law of Moses to the people. This wasn’t a weekly reading, but the first time the book had been read in a long time. You see, the Israelites had been taken captive and were exiled to Babylon for 50 years. When they returned to Israel and found their book it was a very exciting and holy time.

When Ezra opened the book of the law of Moses … after just opening it … “all the people stood up.” The story continues, “Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.” Ezra hadn’t even begun to read the book yet. After he read from the book the people began crying. Ezra dismissed them saying, "Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

Ezra is telling them to celebrate! Do you remember the teaching from Ecclesiastes, “Eat, drink, and be merry?” This is similar. Eat the fat, drink sweet wine, share with others, and rejoice! The joy of the Lord is your strength.

What all three of these celebrations have in common – Miriam’s dance, David’s dance, and Ezra’s reading of the book – is the intention of God’s people gathering in God’s presence. We do that every week.

We are so blessed! But because we gather every week it may feel commonplace to us. Gathering together to be in God’s presence as a community is awesome, even though we do it regularly. Coming to church isn’t just something we do; it is something God calls us to. God wants to be in relationship with us. Through Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit we are one with God and with each other. How then should we come to church? Should we not be anticipating the very presence of God? Should we not celebrate how awesome it is that we are reconciled to God in Christ? I believe church is an opportunity for us to engage our whole selves in the acts of worship and prayer, as well as fellowship with Christ and with each other.

Celebration means more than dancing and singing. Dancing and singing, raising our hands and bowing our heads are ways to celebrate, but where does all this come from? When we celebrate it is because we have some kind of investment in what is going on. Miriam, David, and Ezra were emotionally and spiritually invested in what was happening. They all had something at stake. They cared deeply.

What we celebrate indicates what we care about. Whether you’re a White Sox fan or a Cubs fan, you know what it means to celebrate. Whether you like the ballet or a mosh pit, you know what it means to celebrate. When your heart becomes attached to something, celebration of some kind is near.

When we are emotionally and spiritually invested in our relationship with God, celebration of some kind is near. We may not dance, although some of us may. What is important is engaging in the feelings as well as the rituals of our common time together. When we come to this place, (whether it is physically entering the building or turning on the radio,) do we anticipate being engaged by God? Are we looking forward to the experience of interacting with God together?

I know that it is unreasonable for us to expect the air to be electric with emotions and the presence of God palpable each and every Sunday. But I think it is very reasonable for us to come to church every Sunday knowing that this is a special time of the week. We come together to be in God’s presence. Together we lift our voices to God. Church is a place where we can increase our expectations of hearing and feeling our Divine Beloved without embarrassment or apprehension. Every week we recommit ourselves to the purpose of our baptism and to what we were confirmed – having a personal and a communal relationship with God. This, more than anything else that I can think of, is cause for celebration!