Then in accordance with what is written, they celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles with the required number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day. - Ezra 3:4

Today's Scripture Reading (September 27, 2023): Ezra 3

What is it that keeps you away from worship? It is a tricky question, but what are the reasons why you don't go to church? I am not sure what the right reasons might be; maybe that is a ride we all have to journey for ourselves. But perhaps the question should be, is it easy to stay away from times of corporate worship? I believe that the church needs a rebirth. And that means we have to find a reason to come together to worship and change this world in which we live. I also believe that only the church can provide the change that this world means. But, just like in a Spiderman Movie, the world has gathered to stop us from making the needed change.

Israel was living in a difficult time. They had grown away from the worshipping roots they had developed in the early days of the Exodus. Jerusalem lay in ruins, and all around them lived the enemies of the nation, enemies who did not want the return of a worshiping Israel. They did not want to see the Temple rebuilt or the city walls re-established. As a result, the people lived in fear.

However, the people agreed with their leaders that they would worship regardless of the obstacles. They weren't about to let fear stop them. Sometimes, I wonder what would happen in North America if we were forbidden to exercise our faith. Would we, who stay away from church because the weather is too nice or nasty or because we have other things to do, still worship? I am not sure that I know the answer.

As I was thinking about that question, a story told by Pastor Wayne Cordeiro came to mind. Wayne is the founding pastor of New Hope Oahu. Pastoring in Hawaii is a tough job, but I guess someone has to do it. (Sometimes, my sarcasm doesn't come through.) Wayne Cordeiro tells the story of a trip he made to China many years ago. He landed in China and was taken to the place where he would meet with a group of pastors over the next few days. Some of the Pastors had spent 13 hours to come to this meeting place. And when they arrived, it was hot and the room they had contained no air conditioning or furniture.

The pastors gathered and sat on the floor. It was in this place that Wayne had been asked to teach.   At one point, Wayne asked his new friends how many people they oversaw. The pastors gathered together and came up with the answer. This group of men and women represented 22 million Chinese Christians. He then asked them what would happen to them if they were caught. They replied that they would be arrested and he (Wayne) would be deported within 24 hours. They would spend the next three years in jail. Then Wayne asked the following question: how many of these pastors had already spent time in prison, and many in the room raised their hands. At the end of their time together, Wayne asked them how he could pray for them, and the response that came back was, "We know that you enjoy freedoms that we don't, that you have the freedom to read the Bible and go to church and not fear. We ask that you pray that we will become like you."

Wayne looked at this group of Pastors, sadly shook his head, and replied, "I will not pray that prayer." The faces that looked back at him were shocked. Wayne continued;

In your country, you travel 13 hours or more by train or bus just to attend church. In my country, it is often too far if the church is more than 15 minutes away. In your country you come and sit on the floor, in my country we complain if the seats aren't padded. In your country you come and sit in a hot room, in my country we won't come if there is no air conditioning. In your country, you come knowing that the act of coming might put you in jail; in my country, we worry about what the neighbors might think if they knew that we went to church. In your country, you have memorized large portions of the Bible. In my country, there are an average of two Bibles per family, and few are ever being read. I will not pray that you will become like us; I will pray that we become more like you.

I worry that we have become a church of rights. People leave the church because I have said something with which they don't agree. Pastors have ceased being spiritual leaders like Joshua, leading their people into uncomfortable truths; they are spiritual cheerleaders, cheering on the home team. You don't want to hear uncomfortable truths from me. You would rather hear the more comfortable lies. Harsh, maybe. But I believe that it is true.

Where would we be if it was illegal to come to church? If donations to the church were suddenly penalized instead of honored. Are we willing to hear the harsh truths about our spiritual lives? I don't know, but I fear the answer might be no. We want to come, celebrate, and go home feeling good. What we don't want is what we need: to be spiritually challenged. We want to stay just as we are and have a spiritual leader who will make us comfortable and tuck us into our lives. And a whole bunch of us are out there waiting to fulfill that role if your current leader refuses to do it. But that is not what we need. It wasn't what Israel needed. And that isn't true worship.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezra 4