Pilgrimage Ponderings
Even the Stones Will Cry Out
In my more cynical moments, I wonder why some people come to church. When the motivation appears to be fufilling an obligation in order to get into heaven, but there seems to be no connection between what happens at church and how we treat one another the rest of the week, I find myself being sympathetic to those who say the church is full of hypocrites.
When I am in a church meeting, or an annual conference meeting for that matter, and the focus of the meeting seems to be how we can preserve the institution rather than how we can extend the love of Christ into a hurting world, I get frustrated. I find myself wondering if the Spirit is on the move in other places because we have shut our doors to keep it from disturbing us.
And then...I hear the gospel boldly and faithfully proclaimed. I witness a baby being baptized and join the congregation in pledging to help her grow up in faith. I meet with friends to begin dreaming about how the institutional church might serve rather than compete with a desire to help others grow in Christ. I remember that the Church belongs to God, and that if God wants it to endure, it will endure.
When the Pharisees saw the crowds celebrating Jesus that first Palm Sunday, they asked Jesus to tell his disciples to stop what they were doing. Jesus answered them, "I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out." Sometimes we are too silent about the power of God in our lives through Jesus Christ. Sometimes we are not only too silent, we also seem to want to pretend like we are in control of how God moves among us. But even in these times, the message of God's love breaks through.
And that's why I don't stay in my cynical moods. God is good. And because God is good, I can hope.
