Why We Go to Church

Jon Burnham preached this sermon from Genesis 28:10-19a
on July 20, 2008 at St. John's Presbyterian Church in Houston

Benjamin Franklin used a certain technique to make significant decisions. He divided a sheet of paper in half and wrote "Pro" on one side and "Con" on the other side. Then during three or four days consideration, he put down under the different heads a short hint of the different motives, that at different times occurred to him, for or against the measure. When he had the columns filled in he weighted one against the other and started scratching out a "pro" one on this side if it was balanced by a "con" on the other side. Eventually it would become clear which side of the "pro" or "con" list was the strongest. He then would make his decision. Franklin called this technique "moral or prudential algebra."  You may want to use Franklin's moral algebra if you face a difficult decision.

Our hard choice this morning is what to make of this character named Jacob. Let's try Franklin's moral algebra on Jacob. Imagine two columns on a sheet of paper with one side being pro and another side being con. Now list Jacob's traits. Pro: Tenacious, clever, aggressive, industrious. Con: Deceitful, greedy, liar, thief, unethical in both business and personal affairs, untrustworthy, possible psychopathic.

And the "Con" list continues. Jacob is the joker who burned his brother out of his birthright. Jacob is the joker who tricked his father-in-law out of most of his fortune. Pretty soon we see that in judging Jacob's character the "con" side of the equation wins hands down. We then wonder how this scoundrel named Jacob ever became a hero in the Hebrew Bible. Although the balance of his life came down in the "con" category, Jacob still gets God's blessing. We don't know why this happened. Here is what we do know from this text. We know that Jacob was a morally compromised person and we know that God met with Jacob. Jesus said he came to seek and save sinners, and the God of Israel sought and saved this sinner named Jacob. This world is a place of meeting with God.

Writer Ann Lamotte describes an event where she met God, as she says ...

It's funny: I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox, full of shiny tools: the saw of discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience. But then when I grew up I found that life handed you these rusty bent old tools--friendships, prayer, conscience, honesty--and said, Do the best you can with these, they will have to do. And mostly, against all odds, they are enough.

Not long ago I was driving Sam and his friend Josh over to Josh's house where the boys were going to spend the night. But out of the blue, Josh changed his mid about wanting Sam to stay over. "I'm tired," he said suddenly "and I want to have a quiet night with my mom." Sam's face went white and blank; he has so little armor. He started crying. I tried to manipulate Josh into changing his mine, and I even sort of vaguely threatened him, hinting that Sam or I might cancel a date with him sometime, but he stated firm. After a while Sam said he wished we'd all get hit by a car, and Josh stared out the window nonchalantly. I thought he might be about to start humming. It was one of those times when you wish you were armed so you could attack the kid who has hurt your own child's feelings.
    "Sam?" I asked. "Can I help in any way? Shall we pray?"
    "I just wish I'd never been born."
    But after a moment, he said yes, I should pray. To myself.
    So I prayed that God would help me figure out how to stop living in the problem and to move into the solution. That was all. We drove along for a while. I waited for sign of improvement. Sam said, "I guess Josh wishes I had never been born."
    Josh stared out the window: dum de dum.
    I kept asking God for help, and after a while I realized something--that Josh was not enjoying this either. He was just trying to take care of himself, and I made the radical decision to let him off the hook. I imagined gently lifting him off the hook of my judgment and setting him back on the ground.
    And a moment later, he changed his mind. Now, maybe this was the result of prayer, or forgiveness; maybe it was a coincidence, I will never know. But even before Josh changed his mind, I did know one thing for sure, and this was that Sam and I would be going to church the next morning. Mary Williams would be sitting in the back near the door, in a crumpled hat. Sam would hug her; she would close her eyes and smell the soft skin of his neck, just below his ears.
    What I didn't know was that Josh would want to come with us too. I didn't know that when I stopped by his house to pick up Sam the next morning, he would eagerly run out ahead of Sam to ask if he could come. And another thing I didn't know was that Mary Williams was going to bring us another bag of dimes. It had been a little while since her last dime drop, but just when I think we've all grown out of the ritual, she brings us another stash. Mostly I give them to street people. Some sit like tchotchkes on bookshelves around the house. Mary doesn't know that professionally I'm doing much better now; she doesn't know that I no longer really need people to slip me money. but what's so dazzling to me, what's so painful and poignant, is that she doesn't bother with what I think she knows or doesn't know about my financial life. She just knows we need another bag of dimes, and that is why I make Sam go to church. (Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith, 103-104)

I thought about that story this week during Vacation Bible School as I considered why people come to church. Church attendance is no longer a cultural expectation as it was in the 1950's. No one is expected to come to church in 2008. But some people still come. I wonder what they find here. I wonder if they find something similar to what Anne Lamott finds in her church: A spiritual family. Lord knows none of us is perfect. And then I think back to that story of Jacob. I remember how God came down and met with this schemer, this manipulator, this wheeler - dealer, less than honest, clever man named Jacob. And I start to wonder whether the story of Jacob is supposed to tell us more about who God is and what God is like than it is to tell who Jacob is and what he is like.
  
I came across a riddle this week.

It's greater than GOD.
More cruel than devil.
The poor have it.
The rich need it.
And if you eat it, you'll die.
What is it?

The answer is: nothing.

'Nothing' is greater than GOD.
Nothing is more cruel than devil.
The poor have nothing.
The rich need nothing.
And if you eat nothing, you'll die.

When I reflected on Jacob's story, I finally realized it meant nothing. It meant nothing, that is, unless I put myself into the story. Once I put myself into the story, it made sense. For you see, I am Jacob. And so are you. We have our dreams and visions. We have our faults and sins. But most of all, we have one an other. And in the midst of our broken lives, God comes and meets us here in this place. Once a week. Every Sunday morning. We gather here to support one another. When the people of God come to the church, God meets us here. Someone once said, "Christians aren't perfect. Just forgiven." And that is why we go to church. Today some of our congregation left on a Mexico Mission Trip. Let us keep them in prayer as they undertake this meaningful and significant pouring out of themselves in service to others. Let us pour ourselves out in prayer for them so that they may pour themselves out in service to others.

Our Mexico Mission Team will learn what they have to offer to the church and the world. They will learn that it takes all kinds of people to make a successful mission trip. Some people may tend to be like me: Soft-hearted, reflective, cautious, and idealistic. Others may be more hands-on, forceful, decisive, and candid. Some of them, like Jeanne, are organized, factual, detailed, and scheduled. It takes people with different strengths to make an effective mission team. And that's what we are as a church. We are a mission team. We need people like me who can generate ideas and concepts and we need people who support and manage change. We need people like Bob who take action and get things done. We need people like Shirley who are organized and detailed. And we need newcomers too. We are always open to what new people bring to the mix. Each one of us is needed here. Each of us has an important role to play in this blended family. We are a spiritual, blended family who have been brought together by God to fulfill a mission in the world. We find here people who accept us for who we are. We find here a blended spiritual family where we may use our God-given gifts and talents to bless God's world. That's why we come to church.

In the end, we are all broken, imperfect Jacobs, grasping for God, hoping he shows up when we need him. Some of us have learned the truth of that old gospel song: "I need thee every hour; teach me thy will; and thy rich promises in me fulfill." We come to church and God meets us here. That's why we come to church. If you have been attending this church often, or if today is your first time, consider joining our spiritual family. Speak to me after the service to learn how to join the church. Or, you may want to continue coming for awhile before you take the step of officially joining the church. Whatever you decide, know that you are welcome in this blended spiritual family called St. John's Presbyterian Church.