WHAT WE DO

Church Is a Celebration of LIfe

“The less dependent we are on a building for an hour on Sunday to replicate the transcendent encounter we have as we live through this life, the more we are able to understand the world as sacred, to embrace the truth that the place where we stand is always holy ground—that we are forever in the thin places if we pay attention.”

-John Pavlovitz, internet “pastor” and strident critic of all things Christian
                                   (my description, not his)

Well, John isn’t exactly wrong.
But let me offer a few counterpoints.
           Birthdays. Baptisms. Confirmations. Graduations. Engagements. Weddings.
           Christmas. Easter. Funerals. And Sunday mornings.
None of these things make life less special. All of them are transcendent moments that clue us in to just how special all of life really is. We wouldn't really want to give up all of those celebrations and observations. That wouldn't make life more special, but less. These punctiliar moments don't subtract from life. They add to it. They highlight its importance.

A birthday celebration isn't about ignoring life.
           It's a celebration of life.
A wedding isn't just about a dress and a cake.
           It's about a union of a couple for life.
A funeral isn't an escape from death.
           It's an acknowledgement of life, its fleeting nature, and a call to live now.
And Sunday morning church isn't a retreat.
           It's a reminder, a resource, and a well of reformation.
           It is a regenerative moment that propels the faithful out into the world
                       to fully embrace it.

Building for these "hours" isn't about focusing on some kind of ethereal transcendent encounter that lifts us out of life. Rather, the care that we show these moments is a model of the care we strive to show every moment.

A wedding is special because a marriage is special.
           And we crown that marriage with a party, and a dress, and a cake.
A birthday is special because a life is special.
           And we celebrate on a given day because we want to celebrate that person's life.

And Sunday morning church (or whatever other day and time you choose) is special because all of this world is special, and everyone in it. We take an hour every week not to escape from that fact, but to acknowledge it, and positively celebrate it.

Doing away with the celebratory moments and special observances in our lives will not make life more full. It will empty it.
Pavlovitz is literally telling you not to party.
What a buzz kill.

Ironically, if you actually followed his advice, you wouldn't read his articles. After all, what’s so special about his words? Won't setting those words apart to contemplate them cause you to neglect all the other words out there, and with them, the entirety of God's good creation? I mean, you wouldn't want to get lost in his transcendent words and miss out on life now, would you?

But, of course, that's nonsense. We set certain things apart, not because the world is unimportant. But because it is important.

The church hour isn't an escape that we should do away with. (Although if bruised people need a bit of an escape, what exactly is so wrong with that? Have you never gone to a concert, or watched a movie, or meditated for a moment? Come on.) The Church hour is one of the few places that people gather to intentionally talk, sing, and think about the things that matter most in this world, and to positively celebrate them. (weekly even!) In some traditions, the pastor is called the celebrant, for God's sake. The Church hour is a celebration of life.

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Do you really want to miss out on the celebration of life?
I certainly don’t.
See you next Sunday at church.