I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Psalm 122:1 (NRSV)
I have worshiped in many places. Some of them were quite ornate, and others were very plain. I have worshiped in the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., Saint Andrew’s Scottish church in Jerusalem, and a charming chapel in Redlands, California, with glass behind the chancel looking out at the mountains. There was a small, 200-year-old country chapel in Mississippi, and a brand-new contemporary church in the city. There have been churches that were made of wood, stone, cinder blocks, and red brick. Some had amazingly beautiful stained glass, others only simple clear glass. Some were richly decorated, and others were nothing more than a hall. Some vividly stand out in my mind, while others have faded into the dusty corners of my memory.
Some of these churches were where I worshipped regularly; others were a place that I visited only once. Admittedly, I enjoyed some more than others. In some I was very much at home, and in others I felt like an alien. Often the liturgy was so familiar that I could recite it word-for-word, but in other places it seemed strange and foreign. Frequently, the music made my heart soar, and occasionally it made my ears bleed. I have been inspired by powerful preaching and struggled to stay awake when it was dull. I have both agreed and disagreed with what I heard. I have been welcomed, sometimes uncomfortably so, and I have been ignored. I have been comforted, and I have squirmed in discomfort. All of these have been rich and varied experiences.
The one constant through it all is that God has been present. Wherever people gather to worship God, my heart is glad even if my mind, my biases, my preferences, my theology, or my bottom’s comfort are challenged by some aspect of the experience. God be praised that the Lord is found wherever two or three gather in God’s name!
In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy Gale says “There’s no place like home,” but the question we must ask is, “What makes a place home?” Is home the place that is familiar or is home where the family is? That bit of word play I offer, between familiar and family, is intentional. I am a child of God, a member of God’s family along with all of my brothers and sisters in the household of God. My heart is glad wherever we worship. If God is present, then it is familiar, I am with my family, and I am at home. I pray that you, too, find your true worship home wherever we happen to gather on Sundays and give God thanks and glory for being present with us everywhere.
Pastor Jim
Comments