The Israelites are to camp around the tent of meeting some distance from it, each of them under their standard and holding the banners of their family. – Numbers 2:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (September 13, 2015): Numbers 2

Third Church of Christ, Scientist, in Washington D.C. was built according to a Brutalist architectural design. The church was octagonal in shape, it possessed few windows, and it was, even in the beginning, decidedly non-functional and ugly. Even the members of the church didn’t like the building. And almost from the completion of the structure, it seems that plans were beginning to form with regard to the demolition of the building. And then the unthinkable happened. Somebody outside of the church decided that the architecture of the church was important to preserve. So they applied to have the church moved into a protective status, meaning that the building would have to be kept and maintained in its current condition. And because of the building’s lack of functionality, the building would be impossible to sell. The shrinking congregation would have to keep the building that they hated.

Church architecture means something. Sometimes I think we forget that, and we build and arrange our churches according whim or customs at the time. But just like a modern nursing facility is built with its wings shooting out at weird angles to allow a minimum of staff to be able to take care of the facility, so the building of a church is at once functional and filled with meaning. The high arching ceiling of a traditional church allows for the historic church sound, but it is also intended to point the worshipper towards God. Even the way that we arrange the church furniture carries meaning. A Baptist Church that I know has a very unusual Church set up – at least for a Baptist church. The communion table is lifted up off of the floor and placed in the middle of the platform while the pulpit is shuffled over to the side. The message, which I am not sure many of the church do not understand, is that communion is central to their worship and that the Bible is to take a secondary role. It is an unusual theological position to take, especially when they celebrate communion once a month, but preach the word every Sunday.

The lay out of the camp of Israel was significant. The tribes were to be organized around the Tabernacle and the placing of the tribe of Levi. The functional part of this theme was that the standard bearers for the tribes would be able to see where Levi was setting up and then move to the very spot that their tribe should begin to set up. With experience, this process could be accomplished very quickly. But symbolically the set up meant that God was always at the center of the camp. Israel was to be theocentric (centred on God) and even the way that they set up the camp reflected that emphasis.

The problem with building according to fashion is that it is probably the easiest way to be found to be out of fashion. It is also one of the easiest ways to send a message that we never intended to send, just because we weren’t paying attention. It is a lesson that God taught to Israel during their desert wanderings, and a lesson that Third Church of Christ, Scientist had to learn the hard way. But the good news for Third Church was that in 2011, the historical label on their building was declared to be a hardship to the church and it was removed. The building would be torn down and replaced by an office tower. And I am not sure what meaning that action might carry.    

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Numbers 3