The Religious Experience

Dedication, photo by Taylor Brown

This past weekend, I spent time in the rain at a music festival. It wasn't my first. It won't be my last. I was there to see several bands play throughout the day, but I was most looking forward to seeing Jim James take the stage. He did not disappoint. Even though we were soaking wet, our shoes and pants were muddy, and we had been standing for hours, it was a religious experience.

I do not mean necessarily that I went to Shaky Knees music festival to seek the face of God, but I think that for the majority of the people there, they had a religious experience.

You give yourself over to the music, the rain, the mud, the crowds, the shouting, the yelling, the singing, and all of a sudden you've joined into a group that is moving together and seeking to experience the same thing.

That is similar to what worship is. Worship is about giving yourself over to something greater than yourself. You bring yourself to worship, or to the concert, and you leave having experienced something.

The big difference is that Christians believe that worship is more than an experience. It is something that shapes us. Being in community shapes us, forms us, and informs us of the world around us. You still feel, you still experience, you still give yourself over to a higher power. But you expect to be more than entertained.

Too often, we describe what we like in church or what we dislike in church in terms of what we felt. We would do better to describe what we like in church with the question, "How did this draw me closer to God?" or "Did this change my relationship with other people?"

Music festivals only come around every so often. It was good to be with friends from high school who I do not see but once or twice a year. That made it special. The mud made it special. The music made it special.

Church is always there. We will not always worship at the festival (the ancient Israelites didn't). We do not spend our married lives on the Honeymoon. We will always live in the real world. Religious experiences are worth seeking out. If they don't change us, then it has been self-serving.

My religious experience was at the festival with friends. It changed me to be a better friend and to continue to be in relationship with others.

The real religious experience for me came as my friends walked into the chapel where I was preaching to hear me and support me. That changed me. I will always be grateful for the weekend of religious experiences.

Rest

Because of the generosity of friends, we are able to take a week away from the city. This is nice. We are grateful.

Calming beauty

I've always been a soccer fan. Got up a little early this morning to do laundry and Fulham v Stoke City is on. Don't particularly know the players or have a stake in either team.

But what is always great to see is the way in which players create space. The ball is often played backwards which doesn't make a lot of sense in a fast paced sports world. That's how you create space. You don't always look or move forward. Sometimes you play is backwards. Using the whole field and having a vision for where the ball could go allows the players to put the ball where it should go, in the back of the net.

Just because you're moving forward, doesn't mean you're advancing.

Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here; He is Risen! (Luke 24:5-6)

When there was one set of footprints, that's when Chuck Norris was making you carry him and his dry cleaning

Bob Ueckerist--"Juuuust to gather up the crumbs from under they table..."

The Apprentice

Acts 18:24-28
24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 27 And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.

How open are you to teaching, to rebuke, to correction? How willing are you to listen when someone else comes along to offer a better way?

You know the old jokes and sayings about women who ask for directions and men who will stay lost? Well, yesterday, while in a gas station, a man came in and asked for directions while the wife stayed in the car. It breaks the mold a little bit. But in our Christian walk, we should not be afraid to ask for directions, to ask for help, or ashamed that we don't know the way. Like Apollos, we too, can have an effective ministry while striving to learn more about ourselves and the God we serve. We don't have to do great works of convincing or arguing like Apollos, but we should be open to receive criticism when someone says, "You can do better."

Today, think of someone you can go to for directions, for guidance, or for hope. And if you are not ready to go to that person, say a prayer for them and for you, that the Holy Spirit will guide you into that person's path.

Prayer: God, help me to have the mind of an apprentice who learns from those willing to teach, that I may better know your will and walk in your way. Amen.

G. Thomas Martin