The season of Lent through Easter
Where is God? We probably answer, God is everywhere! Or, maybe we say, God is unseen, but can be in our hearts. Do these answers, however, leave God in some “spiritualized,” or conceptualized, realm? Does God seems distant from the particulars of life, seem unreal?
We are nearing completion of our Building for Christ’s Mission. About six years ago, we started, looking at needed repairs. We expanded our vision to the possibility of more useful space. During that time, I have been fascinated by the story of Moses and the movable Tabernacle. The Lord said to Moses, “…have them make a sanctuary, so that I may dwell among them.” [Exodus 25:1,8] What does “dwell among them” mean? We may be tempted to “not take that literally.” We could interpret the story saying the folks back then needed something concrete because they could not think abstractly. We contrast the ancient way of looking at things with our modern belief. We say something must be common to everyone through the five senses, or it is not real. (That is the original meaning of “Common Sense” and the core assertion of The Enlightenment.) I wonder if we are much poorer in our diminished ability to appreciate God’s presence in creation.
I also think of the ongoing discussion in our congregation. How much emphasis should we place on a building? Is that not focusing too much on our selves? To answer that discussion, I try to understand the directions given to Moses. I try to understand the way Jesus transformed the focus. He said worship is no longer tied to a specific location. Rather, we can experience true worship through his Holy Spirit (John 4:23, John 20:21). I try to understand what it means that Christ-followers are now the Temple of the Holy Spirit and the Body of Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:16; 12:12)
I have come to believe that the directions given to Moses have not been repealed. Rather, the way God dwells and works on earth is now expanded. We do not divorce faith from service. Faith is strengthened when we gather in worship; when we care for one another; and when we scatter to address the physical and spiritual hungers of the world; and when we invite others to come back with us and see what they can experience at 914 West Boulevard South. In the fellowship offered there, we can realize faith may be trustworthy. We learn from others how we can live the faith. The saints who built the Centrum emphasized that by using the word “Centrum.” That term reminds us: Worship is at the center and then spirals us out into the world, trusting and serving.
In our Building for Christ’s Mission, we remember the term building comes from Ephesians chapters 2 and 4. We are working to build up the physical facility. We are working to build up what happens in the facility. And, we are working to build up our lives as we go out from the facility into the community.
During this season of Lent and Easter, our topics for worship will help us review all of this. On Ash Wednesday (February 22, 7:00 p.m.) we start with the ancient prayer, Create in me a clean heart, O God. Then, our Sabbath worship (Saturdays at 6:30 p.m., Sunday mornings at 8:30 and 11:00) we will consider what goes on in our building, looking at very specific parts of our project, under the title, Building our life together. During our midweek worship (Wednesdays at 7:00, using the service of evening prayer) we will ask how, through God’s grace, we are Rebuilding our inner life. After Easter (which is on April 8) we will look at the fascinating picture in John 10:22-23, of Jesus in the temple portico.
