Why do people attend houses of worship?
According to a recent Pew Research Center study, 81 percent of the more than
4,700 survey participants said that they regularly attended their houses of
worship “to feel close to God.” (Other reasons cited for attendance included:
to provide moral education for their children; to become a better person; for
comfort in time of trouble or sadness.)
For as long as I can remember, I have attended church regularly, although I did
miss some Sundays when I was in university. But after a profound religious
experience during my senior year, I decided I would be in church at least
weekly. I wanted to get to know God better, this God I had met in that
conversion experience as overwhelming, consuming love. This verse from the
Letter of James spoke for me then and now: “Draw near to God, and God will draw
near to you.”
Worship draws me near to God, and without it, I would quickly lose that sense
of intimacy that I now enjoy.
Even when I am on vacation, as I was in July, I attend church weekly. I would
never think of missing, just as I would never think of not breathing, or of not
eating food or not drinking water. They are necessary to my life. So is God. So
is my worship of him. Worship is that act in which I acknowledge my dependence
on God, thank him for his blessings, seek his forgiveness and help and receive
his grace or favor in word and sacrament. Worship is part of who I am.
I am part of that 81 percent of Pew respondents. I worship because I want to be
close to God. The Sunday service is a time of holy encounter every week. Sometimes,
that encounter is intense, other times more subdued. In some way, God meets me
there. And I am better for it. My faith in God is stronger.
On vacation, this summer, Penny and I and granddaughters June and Christa
visited Christ Church, Summit, N.J., a United Church of Christ congregation.
Our oldest friends are active members.
There, we met warm, loving people who welcomed us. We learned about the ways
the church was showing God’s love to others. In worship, we listened to that
day’s Scripture readings and heard an edifying sermon. And we were inspired by
the music.
After the sermon, the choir sang an old African-American spiritual, “There is a
Balm in Gilead,” Hymn 676 in the Episcopal Church Hymnal. It goes like this:
There is a
balm in Gilead
to make
the wounded whole,
there is a
balm in Gilead
to heal
the sin-sick soul.
Sometimes
I feel discouraged
and think
my work's in vain,
but then
the Holy Spirit
revives my
soul again.
Refrain
If you
cannot preach like Peter,
if you
cannot pray like Paul,
you can
tell the love of Jesus
and say,
"He died for all."
Refrain
Soon,
the whole congregation joined in singing the hymn. As I sang, I started to
cry—tears not of sadness, but of deep joy. Christa, our youngest granddaughter,
took my hand. I smiled. “I’m okay,” I whispered.
I
was more than okay. For in the singing of that hymn, I felt God’s presence with
me in a real, even dramatic way. I knew that he loved me, that he had given
himself for me and my salvation in Jesus that he was with me always. And I was
thankful. That hymn reminded me that God, whom I know in Jesus, is the balm in
my Gilead.
Every Sunday, you will find God in a church near you. He will be there in liturgy, whatever your Christian tradition, as well as in fellowship, in education and formation and in service. Worshiping with other Christians
weekly, you will know for yourself that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the
balm of Gilead. He will make your wounds whole and will heal your sin-sick
soul.
