Clothesline 281 "Make church a habit"

I have a New Year’s Resolution for you:

Make Sunday worship a habit,

and God will make it a joy.

When I was a child, no one worked on Sundays. It was a day where family spent time together and everyone I knew went to church. Yes, I know, that’s not the correct terminology; we don’t go to church; we are the church. But you know what I’m talking about. Going to Sunday worship…going to church…was a given. Growing up a Catholic, there was no option; you went to church! And I always wondered if God was pleased since the choice to go… wasn’t mine.

As I got older, however, I learned to love our liturgy, our form of worship, and I wouldn’t miss that Sunday morning experience. Writing this Clothesline brought to mind those few occasions as an adult when I actually didn’t go to church on a Sunday. There was a time when I had the choice…and I chose to stay home. And it bothered me all week! Why? I’m not sure, but many years later, in a conversation with another clergy person about this same subject, he said something that gave me pause. He said, “People need to make church a habit.” What? Church… a habit? That’s not why we should go to church?

It’s been years since I thought of that conversation, but it came up just the other day, and I finally understood what it meant: Make church a habit, and God will make it a joy. It came to me like a bolt of lightning. Have you ever gone to church because you felt you had to, but when your Sunday experience was over, you were glad you came…you felt joy?

Why do we go to church in the first place? Truth is, we’re looking for something. We’re looking for a break from the crazy and busy world we live in, and we’re trusting that we’ll find our God waiting for us. When we enter the sanctuary, there should be a blessed silence, inviting us into God’s house. As we settle into our seats, we wait for His Presence through His Word, our music and the Holy Sacrament. And we have a few precious moments where we get to leave the cares of the world behind, and we can bask in His Holy Temple, expecting His Blessing on our prayers and presence. And just think of it…all this may have started with someone making you go to church!

There is a story of a mother waking up her young son on a Sunday morning for church.

“I don’t want to go,” responds the son.

“But you have to,” says his mother.

“They don’t like me at that church. I’m not going.”

“It doesn’t matter what you think, son, you must!”

“Give me one good reason why I have to go,” the son says, to which his mother replies, “You’re the priest!”

Sunday might be a good day to sleep in, but why not give God one hour of your day; he did give you the other twenty-three. You may think you know all there is to know about your faith. But I guarantee if your God brings you to church on Sunday morning, He will have something special to offer you, and your simple presence may be a blessing to someone else. And just think…if you make church a habit, I promise that God will make it a joy!