What is a Church
Author:
April 01, 2019
When I was a
junior in college I spent a semester abroad in London. One of the perks of the program I
participated in (not to mention the three day weekends every week) was the
amazing class trips. As a history major,
I relished the opportunity not only to take classes focusing on medieval
Christianity and British history but attend the associated classes that took us
to some of the most marvelous churches England had to offer, Canterbury, York,
Westminster, Durham. On my weekend travels,
I visited the Church of the Holy Rood in Stirling, Scotland, St. Patrick’s and
Christ Church in Dublin, and Notre Dame in Paris, to name a few.
I remember at the beginning of the semester
thinking that visiting all these stunningly beautiful churches would provide
for me a spiritual awakening. By the end
of the semester I was sorely disappointed and left feeling empty. I’ve used this example of hope and
disappointment in many a sermon about church and community, where I had come
solidly down on the side of the “church not a building” camp. I see this discussion playing out in the
aftermath of the fire at Notre Dame in Paris. And until recently I separated the spiritual from the physical.
While I still hold that the community of people gathered, the
Body of Christ, if you will, is what comprises primarily the Church. I see now the separation between the Church
gathered and the Church physical isn’t a realistic one. Why? Because of the sacraments for starters. We are baptized, confirmed, married, ordained, and sometimes our lives
are celebrated in our churches. Every
week we hear the Good News of Jesus Christ, are forgiven, corporately and
individually, and share in the remembrance of the Lord’s supper, Holy
Communion. These events, these moments
knit us together as members of the larger body of Christ and in many ways help
us find our identity in the Lord. I
struggled to find God in the vast cathedrals of the UK and France because in
some ways they were devoid of the more immediate context of my life in
Christ. I wasn’t looking in the right
place.
I understand mourning Notre Dame, the three most
recent churches burned in St. Landry parish, Louisiana and any other building,
plain or ornate, small or magestic that provided a meeting place between
ourselves and God. I feel a deeper
connection to St. Paul’s cathedral in OKC now, having been ordained there and
saying goodbye to my brother there. Yes,
these places are just buildings, but what happens, and WHO happens in them is
what sets them apart.
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