Remembering Who We Are

Growing up, I had a family culture that included going to church for worship on Sundays.  Prior to becoming United Methodist when I was eight, we also went to church on Sunday and Wednesday evenings.  When we went on vacation, if we were gone over a Sunday, we would visit a church for worship.

If you were sick, you either had to have a fever or be throwing up to miss.

This was a part of our family identity and the loyalty and values that I learned at church were reinforced in the home.  It clearly set boundaries on who I was becoming and what my expectations were. 

It is said that during times of stress or anxiety, we rely on the basics of who we are.  So when COVID hit our country, churches found that one of their best tools - being in relationship through the Holy Spirit with one another - was put on pause.  Since that pause, many people have not returned to regular worship across the country.  It seemed to speed up the de-churching movement going on in our nation.

Some say that they continue to worship online but I recently heard that this is somewhat like watching a fireplace burning on your television.  You miss out on the warmth of the in-person experience.  It is also hard for us to hold others accountable which is part of the Christian experience (it's not just about others holding us accountable).  Online worship continues to be essential, especially for the home-bound, but I fear that it has become a crutch for too many who are able to come but don't.  It seems to have led to being an off-ramp entirely for a lot of people today.  Fortunately, as we often highlight in the parable of the Prodigal, there is nothing theological that would keep us from coming back!

As we close down 2023 and move into 2024, one of the major Christian traditions during this time of year is to renew our identity through worship.  Historically, United Methodists have done this in Watch Night services around New Year's which is a part of the Wesleyan tradition.  It may be that you see some kind of covenant renewal service on December 31st.

If your church follows the liturgical year, the first Sunday in January will Baptism of the Lord Sunday.  Often, if there is not a baptism being celebrated on this day, the congregation will share in a baptismal renewal service.  In essence, the congregation renews their own baptismal vows each time a baptism is celebrated.  It helps remind us who we are as we share in the liturgy.

This new year will also bring us another presidential election.  I don't know anyone who thinks that the political discourse is very civil at this point in our country's history.  What if we could be part of a corrective course?  It could be that I need a reminder of who I am that will help me raise the bar on how I choose to interact.  If you get a chance to renew your faith over the next couple of Sundays, I would invite you to do so.  This helps us to set our identity even in the face of temptation to disrespect those with whom we disagree.

And if you attend a church that doesn't indulge in covenant renewal, I would invite you to pray the Covenant Prayer as adapted from John Wesley.  It is one of the prayers that I try to pray at the start of each day.  I pray that your new year is blessed and fruitful!

 

I am no longer my own, but yours.
Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by you or laid aside for you,
exalted for you or brought low for you.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
you are mine, and I am yours. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

    

Photo by Tony Hall via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.