I recently read an article where a minister from the United States had visited some of the great cathedrals in Europe. Anyone who knows much about religion knows Europe has been a great bastion of faith in the past, but has lost her moorings and now drifts awash in the multitudes of clamoring religions, Islam being chief among them. He brought out this fact by telling of going to communion in one of the great basilicas of the faith and sharing the cup with about 40 people while multitudes milled around the edges, interested only in the beauty of the place, not the broken Savior represented. It brought to my mind a few times I have been in a similar locale. In this country, while in some great cathedrals, I have watched as the “faithful few” continue to go through worship rituals, receiving communion, all the nice stuff of organized religion, while far more people were milling along the periphery, not paying much attention to what was going on, but engrossed in the architectural details of the building.
I wonder how many people are “in” church, but just observing. They may not be caught up in the grand specatacle of architechure, for costs and tastes have altered that era. But they could very well be caught up in the “show,” the “performance,” the “entertainment.” And, like those of us who have milled around the edges while the faithful in the great arenas of faith from bygone days received no spiritual nourishment from what others did, so those who pass by and admire a nice building or sign, even those who sit and simply observe the “goings on” of a service, but never really enter worship, arent’ benefited spiritually.
Perhaps it’s time to carry Jesus to the edges of the camp and let Him do His wondrous works there. I am enthralled that last week over one hundred families were fed in our food program…hundreds of people didn’t wake up hungry this morning because of some dedicated givers and workers. I relish the idea that two adults came to Christ during that time of sharing. That’s pushing Jesus out to the edges…but there are so many more…so many left hurting. Jesus is calling us to carry His name, His message, out to the every edges of our society. Let’s hear His impassioned plea, be broken by the lonely crying of the hurting, and carry Him with us into the edges of our world. Who knows, someone might just be lingering around because they really do want to know if He’s real to you!
