All are Called, but Few Show Up

Blessed is he that shall eat bread
in the kingdom of God.
Luke 14:15

Sometimes when I stand here on a Sunday morning, I feel like the householder in the parable, who threw a party only to discover that most of the invited guests had stayed away.  Of course, I don’t take it personally—after all, it’s not my party, and it would never occur to me to instruct the sidespersons to go outside and force people to come in, until the church was full (cf. verse 23).
            But I do wonder how, at a time when church-going is no longer the norm, we can get people to appreciate what they are missing.  There is a “catch 22” here: the only way to experience the benefits of regular church attendance is to come to church on a regular basis.  I know that Sunday worship gives my life a structure, an order, and a sense of peace, but how to communicate this to someone else? 
            Many people today, especially young people, say they are spiritual but not religious.  Mount Dennis United is holding a presentation entitled “Jesus without Religion.”  I don’t doubt for a moment that it is possible to lead a deeply spiritual life without any church connection—the Desert Fathers rarely got together for community worship. 
            But most of us are not hermits, and the church provides a supportive container within which we can live a spiritual life; going it alone is not for most people. We are encouraged by coming together on a regular basis with others who share our values and goals and support us with their love. 
            Our epistle comes from an early Christian community where the only law was the law of love:

A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another
as I have loved you. (John 13:34)
We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love
the brethren. (1 John 13:14).

            Sometimes it takes a disaster to shake people out of their self-centredness and indifference to others.  The horrific earthquake in China, the country’s worst natural disaster in more than 30 years, has led to a more compassionate nation than many had expected: tens of millions of Chinese line up for hours to make donations of cash, food, or clothes, while others leave jobs and families to aid the suffering. 
            We are social beings; we can only survive in society.  Our epistle assumes this, but it adds the all-important motivation of God’s love: