Participation
I have a file full of torn-out and/or highlighted pages from magazines, newsletters, and other sources collected over the years that serve as an idea repository for the Wednesday Word. I look through that file when I need a little help in coming up with something to write. Looking through that file, I came across a page from the Trinity Church-Wall Street newsletter. It comes from their September, 2011 issue, and the title is, “9/11 Sermon Notes.”
There are six points that this page asked preachers to consider when creating a sermon for the tenth anniversary of that event. Point number 5 caught my attention: Be part of the story. This point dealt with people coming to St. Paul's Chapel to see the best of humanity after seeing the worst of humanity, or to give of their time and resources to those in need as Christians have done for thousands of years.
And while this page was dedicated to the 10th anniversary of 9/11, point number 5 applies to us as well in the midst of the Advent season.
We are now roughly halfway through this first season of the Church year. We have heard readings revolving around preparation. We have lighted candles on the wreath. We have moved Mary and Joseph along their way to Bethlehem. And in two weeks we will gather for Christmas Eve services (6:30 with pageant, 10:30 for music, 11:00 with incense) and the Christmas Day service (9 a.m.), as we celebrate the Incarnation of God in the person of Jesus.
What would happen if we changed our vocabulary about church? What would happen if we moved from “attending church” or “going to church” to saying that we “participate in church?” I know a lot of us do participate in so many good and important ways – from Altar Guild to Youth Ministry and everything in-between. But what if we participated in church, became part of the story, every day of our lives, not just on Sunday or Vestry or Commission or other church-related events? What if we actively worked at being part of the story?
This Advent we prepare for the coming of the Lord with the lighting of candles, the moving of figures, the counting of days. We are also asked to remain awake and watchful. Over the next several weeks we will hear the story of a young woman banished to a stable because there was no room, and of a new family on a frantic escape from political persecution to gain asylum in a foreign country.
We are preparing and we are watching; hopefully not passively. How might you see the Advent/Christmas story playing out in your life? And how might you become part of that story in a way that shows the best of humanity to a world that too often sees the worst of humanity?
As Christians, we are called to not simply attend, but to participate in our story of salvation.
Blessings,
Todd+