Why
are You in Church for Easter,
The Feast of the Resurrection of Christ?
Seek and You Shall Find!
Rev. Fr. Stépanos Dingilian, Ph.D. © 2004
There will be many people in Church during Easter, the Feast of the Resurrection
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The question is “Why?” Why are we in
Church? What do we expect when we go to Church? What do we look for when we are
there?
There are a variety of reasons why people go to Church and here are some.
One reason that people go to Church is because that is what they have done while growing up. The family did it, and we are going to do it! It is repeating what has been done in the past without asking and understanding “Why?” There is certainly merit to this approach, and it is recognized that this is an effective way of initially encouraging children to attend Church. Unfortunately, there are two shortcomings with this approach. First, the true miracle and inspiration of the Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is not appreciated. Second, attending Church is relegated to something done without conscious awareness, which in turn reduces the teachings of Christianity to old-fashioned ideas that do not hold up to modern critical thinking. As children grow up to be youth, this false teaching essentially removes Christianity as an essential and foundational reality in a person’s and community’s life. It is interesting that such people may sense comfort and peace in the Church, but they are not able to apply that sense of peace in their daily relationships and situations. They rob themselves of the true power, joy, and inspiration of the Christian Faith.
Another reason why people think they go to Church is because if they do, then
God will give them what they want. These people essentially see God as
subservient to them: All they need to do is go to Church and ask from God, and
God will deliver what they want, when they want, and how they want. It is
obvious that such an attitude towards God is not a healthy one, and certainly
not part of the Christian Faith. In the Bible we read on numerous occasions
where God disciplined the people who thought that, as the saying goes, “had
God in their back pocket.” Christ called such people who only asked from God
without giving as the “evil generation.” People with such reasoning do not
truly appreciate God, rather see themselves and their needs as the most
important in life, and rob themselves of the expanse and happiness in life.
Yet another reason why people go to Church is to reinforce what they already
think, their perspective of life, of others, and of themselves. Some of these
may be positive and yet others negative. For instance, some who are positive may
think that what matters in life is honesty. So they go to Church, take part in
the Divine Liturgy, and conclude that the most important teaching in
Christianity is honesty – honesty towards God, towards others, and towards
oneself. Those who tend to think negatively may go to Church thinking that
everyone is a hypocrite and they will look for signs of hypocrisy in everyone.
Sure enough after the services are complete, such people will conclude (“As I
have always known!”) that those attending Church are hypocrites, the clergy
are hypocrites, and even … God is hypocritical! The difficulty with people who
go to Church with the expectation to simply reinforce their views of life –
positive or negative – is that they do not benefit and grow from the Church,
and they do not experience the miracle and glory of the Faith. Instead of
growing in appreciation and joy, they become more and more closed and tunnel-visioned
in their view of life and relationships.
People go to Church yet for another reason: To be in the presence of God. As St. Kreekor Narékatzee points out: “The greatest gift of prayer is not receiving that which we ask for, but being in the presence of God while we pray.” People with this understanding go to Church precisely because they want to be in the presence of God within a community of believers. They do not need to go to Church in order to be in the presence of God; they can do that at home as well. But being in the presence of other faithful while praying adds a greater sense of inspiration and enormity to prayer … it transforms prayer to worship! These are the people who have a relationship with God that is personal, direct, inspirational, and realistic. These are the faithful whose lives are truly enriched by the Faith!
However, before we jump to any conclusions as to what we think or which “group” we belong to (or don’t belong to), let us clarify a few points.
First, as imperfect human beings, probably there is no one who strictly, 100% of
the time belongs to one “group” or another, or has one sort of reasoning as
opposed to another! Even the most faithful person once in a while becomes
self-centered as opposed to God-centered. And even the most self-centered
negative person once in a while realizes that he or she is not God, and that not
everything is within his or her reach or capability. Instead, all of us likely
experience some attitudes or views of each way of reasoning during our lifetime,
and especially while we are in Church. Sometimes we are there because we want to
be in the presence of God. Other times we are there because we want something
from God, and we want it our way. While other times we are in Church to
reaffirm our pre-conceived notions. Is this bad? No! It just goes to show that
we are all human beings and that life is given to us so we may grow in Faith and
appreciation of God and fellow human beings. It is apparent that the more we can
direct ourselves towards the fourth reason mentioned above, the more we will
grow in life and Faith.
There is second point that is important for us as Christians, and especially
those of us actively involved in the Church. This point was very well summarized
by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Archbishop Torkom Manoogian when he
said: “God brings people to Church through a variety of reasons. Our job is to
help them see the true treason for being in Church.” Adding to these wise and
gracious comments, it is not for us to judge people on why they are in Church,
but rather to welcome them into the Church, and encourage them to develop that
open relationship and dialogue with God and fellow human beings. We don’t know
why people may initially come to Church, and in fact they may not know either.
Instead of trying to question them or judge their intentions, it is our first
and foremost responsibility is to welcome them and show love towards them, and
show by example the positive difference that the Christian Way of Life makes in
our daily relationship, and within the Church – the community of the Faithful!
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