Someone pointed out to me yesterday that I haven't blogged in a while
so, I'll address a statement I overheard last weekend at a picnic.
Anyone
with children or teens will tell you that their kids think church is
boring. In fact, many adults think much the same. It is boring, long,
not relevant, confusing, poorly done and a there are people including
some clergy who don't beleive in everything the church teaches.
So
lets make a list of what is wrong with church; The music is too old.
The music is too new. I hate classical music. I hate rock music. I
hate organ music. I hate piano music. I hate guitars. The music is
too fast or too slow. Too loud or too soft. The musicians make too
many mistakes. The choir can't sing. The soloists are amateurish.
They hire professionals. The reader reads too fast, too slow, too soft
or mispronounces words. They don't know how to dress. The Eucharistic
Minister is living with someone and is thusly a hypocrite. The church
focuses too much on youth and ignores the needs of the older
population. Our church has no youth. The homily is too childish, too
heady, too preachy, too long, too philosophical, too boring, not
relevant. The bible is all about 2,000 year old dead people whose life
and culture are irrelevant to me today. They take in all that money and
I get nothing out of it. The pews are too hard. They put in cushions
and destroyed the acoustics. They argue over money, kneelers, statues,
the parking lot or they have too many committee meetings. The place
looks like a dusty old museum. The place looks like a living room.
It's too bright. Too dark. We have stained glass windows which are too
expensive to maintain. We don't have any stained glass windows.
Did
I hit your issue with the church? Do you have more? We humans are
very good at making excuses and externalizing our problems and laying
blame. In reality, the problem with church isn't out there but is
actually within the individual.
If you exercised for 30 minutes
a day for a year, would you feel better? Certainly. Then why don't
you do it? The common answers are that you don't feel like working out
or you don't have time.
If you were to grow your own food and
prepare your meals with a focus on nutrition, after a year, would you be
a more healthy person? Then why don't you do it? The answer may be
that you don't have time. It is easier to go out for dinner, buy
microwavable food or go to a drive-thru.
If you were to go to
bed early and get all the sleep your body requires, would you feel
better during the day? Then why don't you do it? You don't have time
or there are good TV shows on late at night.
Would you like to
spend more time with the ones you love but you work all day and when you
come home at night you are too exhausted and you find that you are
actually giving them the least productive and most tired part of your
time? So why do you work? You need money to give them things? In
fifty years, will your kids wish that their dad gave them more things or
that they wish Dad spent more quality time with them?
You know
all the correct answers to those questions but you don't do them.
Why? If you purchased a $500,000 Lamborghini, would you drive it down a
street filled with pot holes? Would you drive it down muddy dirt
roads? Would you take it through a commercial car wash where the water
is recycled dirt from previous cars, where the sponges can have the dirt
and grit embedded in them from previous cars and the boys drying the
car at the end are wiping you car's finish with used rags? No, you
would probably wash it by hand yourself and dry every inch of it by hand
with a chamois. Why don't we treat our families and bodies like a
Lamborghini? Are they not worth $500,000. We don't have the time.
Church
is only one hour long. If you were to hear something in church which
you could take with you and it could somehow make you a better person in
every aspect of your life, wouldn't it be worth the hour?
So,
the first thing to do when you go to church on Sunday is to block out
all those external excuses, prejudices and dislikes. Say a short prayer
asking God to teach you something that day to change your life. God
doesn't want your money, He wants you to live a happy and holy life.
So, ask Him. Then sit back and listen. Listen to the music, listen to
the readings, listen to the homily, listen to the silence, listen to the
prayers. Chances are that within, say the Eucharistic Prayer, is the
answer to something which needs your attention and can change your life,
or a piece of it. If this you do, chances are that church won't be as
boring as you thought and you may actually learn to enjoy everything
you thought you hated.
If you were at a family gathering and
hung out at the kids table, it could be boring. If you sat with the old
people, it might be boring. If you played a game or watched TV or sat
and ate, it could be boring. But chances are you wouldn't be bored
because you are spending time with people you love. You share stories,
food, problems and solutions. When Grandpa tells the same old story
about what happened to him 60 years ago, you listen as if it were the
first time. Why? Because we block out everything we dislike about
these rituals and people and focus only on what we can take from the
experience because, we love these people. Ask any grandparent who sits
through their grandchild's first piano recital and they will tell you it
was beautiful.
If Steve Jobs or some billionaire were to offer a
free seminar this weekend and tell you how to be happy and successful
in your life, would you go? Probably. If God, whether you beleive in
Him or not, were to speak this weekend and tell you how to be happy and
successful in your life, would you go? Probably. Well, guess what? He
is speaking this weekend for one hour. All you need to do is go, block
out everything you dislike about the hour, the people and what they do
or don't do, and listen. If you listen, if you TRULY listen, you will
hear something which can change you. After doing this every week for
several weeks, I guarantee that you will be a better person. You will
be closer to your family, God, yourself and be happier with your life.
For
an added bonus, exercise, eat right and get plenty of sleep. Then
spend quality time with those you love. In fifty years, nobody will
remember that you showed up to work on time. They may remember that you
were cheerful, reverent, happy, giving, a great listener or
sacramental.
Listen . . .
