And now for something completely different

Even as I write this, there is a pastor in Florida who is still planning to burn copies of the Koran this Saturday. I am not sure what he hopes to achieve by this obscene act of violence. And yet the media was quick to pick up on it. I first saw it earlier this week on the CBC website. I have also seen the political and religious response to this and while I have been encouraged, I find myself thinking that what too many people will see is a Christian doing something stupid. And it is a short trip to wipe all of us with the same brush. This only builds on the media attention given to the demonstrations in New York opposing the construction of a community centre several blocks away from Ground Zero, a community centre which also holds a prayer room for Muslims.

And while these things are problematic for a whole bunch of reasons, they may also be opportunities for conversation with those who do not go to church. They see the protesters and they see the sign on the front lawn of the church in Florida and perhaps something recoils within them. And yet, there may be an opportunity to invite them to “come and see” something different, to come and see what is happening in your own congregation, to come and see a people who clothe themselves in humility, kindness, compassion and patience.

And I think that is one thing that this Back to Church Sunday has done for me. It has made me more accountable to how I treat members of the church, members of those who live in my community. It has made me take more seriously those lists of behaviours that Paul outlines in so many of his letters. And it has given me a reason to talk more and more about that on Sunday mornings. When people come to church, what do they see, what do they hear? Do they hear words of kindness, compassion and forgiveness? Do they hear words of judgment, gossip and blame?

One final note: we helped a young girl at the local high school who was pregnant. As a church, we were able to supply her both with financial resources and some of those items that every new mom would need for her child. When the gifts were delivered to her apartment, one of the first things she did was call me at home. “Thank you”, she said. We talked a little more, and through that conversation, it became clear what moved her the most. Where she was expecting to hear words of judgment from the church, there was a basket of items that spoke of love, support and grace. There were people, at a church, who cared. There were people, at a church, she could learn to trust.

So, invite someone to Back to Church Sunday. Give them an opportunity to see something new, to see something they have perhaps never seen before, to see something that they had not expected, to see something that reflects, even in some small way, the love of Jesus Christ. Give those who come to church a people who are active in the world: not active in burning books, but active in “seeking the welfare of the city” ( Jeremiah 29:7 ), where God has called us.