John 21:13-22

I have in my files an article that was featured in the religious section of our local newspaper published in 2002.  It highlighted the attitude of those born in the sixties and seventies who were finding God in places other than churches.  Basically, they were stating they did not need a church community to have a relationship with God. Twenty three years later, we must acknowledge church attendance has declined year after year.  Basic data shows only twenty two percent of “registered Catholics” attend mass each week. 

So, if church attendance is considered unnecessary to encounter God why all the fuss about Basilica in Rome?  What is the purpose of the church in our spiritual journey? The church is certainly more than the building.  Visitors to churches, like Basilica, ooh, and ahh as they enter it.  They can be beautiful, but God is present in the simple churches of the early century which are without stained glass windows, gold encrusted vessels and magnificent crucifixes. 

we should never lose sight of the biblical truth that we are the church, living stones built into a spiritual house. The Body of Christ, Paul refers to as a holy nation, a royal people set apart.  In that aspect those who say they do not need a “church” are correct.  God is present to us when we stand, sit, sleep, work, and yes when we are enjoying the outdoors.  But we can learn a lesson about the purpose of a building adding a dimension necessary to our ability to encounter Christ when we are not in the building.

The scriptures certainly tell us something we should pay attention to every time we enter the church, regardless of the reason we are there.  We can enter an empty church on any day and sit in silence and perhaps have our own revelation just as Ezekiel did as he looked at the temple. He witnessed a “trickle” of water flowing out of the temple. A trickle which became a stream bigger than any river he had ever seen and how it was bringing life to everything it touched.  The church is a place where we too can experience; new life by us allowing that same Sprit to satisfy our need for a rebirth.   

The imagery of water to us and our faith journey. Beginning with the creation.  Earthy was an empty waste land and the “Rua” of God” the wind of the Spirit swept over the water bringing order out of chaos, life where there was nothing.  We know how the water cleansed the earth and the story of Noah.  We know how the red sea was plated, allowing the Israelites to once again know befree.  We know how the water of John’s baptism was a new beginning for those who believed.  We know Jesus speaks of living water that will flow from Him to us. 

The building, the church, offers us a place to reflect and ponder these things.  That is why on the afternoon of September eleventh the church was filled with people trying to make sense of a great tragedy. As we sit in an empty church, perhaps our expectations are of having an encounter with God is too low. Perhaps that low expectation carries over our Sunday mass experience and we fail to enter a mindset of worship. 

What do we expect when we attend Sunday mass?  We are gathered as the Body of Christ to worship and give thanks to God for the gift of Jesus Christ.  Do we join in the worship or are we going through the motions without our hearts being engaged?  Do we realize the reason we are there is to give thanks and experience more of God’s grace.  Do we realize as we are joining in the prayers of the saints and angels? Do we pay attention as we are nourished by the Sacrament of the Word and Eucharist?

Parents, how often are you attempting to keep your children silent instead of making their experience a good one by allowing them the freedom to wiggle and pull every book out of the racks?  Those who are bothered by children should remember Jesus said, “let the children come to me.”  Be thankful those children are there and never underestimate what God is doing in them, for they are the future of the church.    

Why do we celebrate these older churches? They are our history, reminding us of the sacrifice of martyrs and the struggles of sinners who became saints.  It is not the building and not even John of Lateran that is important.  It is a reminder to each of us of our need for a place we know we can go to sit before Christ and say, “lord be merciful to me a sinner.”  It is a place where we gather with others who struggle with the disasters of their lives.

Our church is a place where we come to be nourished and have our spirits lifted by more than the sacraments of word and eucharist.  It is our time in the temple as it was for the twelve year old Jesus who needed to listen to the wisdom of the Rabbis and to ask questions to satisfy His own understanding of the Father. It is necessary for us to be as ruthless ass Jesus was when he overthrew the money changes tables because their focus was not on worship.    

How about today, we acknowledge the “church” we attend as our body and our need to discover the presence of the Living God who died for us and freed us to worship in Spirit and truth.