How many times have we heard a child or teenager say, "I don't want to go to church."? How sad that we have come to the point in our American society, culture and spirituality that we have allowed "keeping the Sabbath Day" to disintegrate into something to be dreaded or oppressive - "going to church".
"Going to church" is a phrase that becomes a negative. Even the way we talk affects how we live. For us to even use the words - "I am going to church" signals and even encourages bad theology. In the early days of Christianity, "the church" was an exciting, alive gathering of the people of God. They looked forward to gathering together so they could be encouraged, built up and strengthened so that they could then go out into the world and manifest the living Christ and BE the church in their world.
To use the phrase above indicates a going to a static place for a boring ritual. We don't "go to church". We, the church, gather in a place as the people of God participating in an order of worship where we as a community are nourished spiritually so that we can effectively go back out into the world and be the church. And the act of worship is only a part of what we are doing as we observe the Sabbath.
"Keeping the Sabbath holy" has to do with the natural rhythm of six days of work followed by a day of rest. This natural rhythm of ceasing for one day every six days is the way we were created. By observing this principle week after week, we become whole and at peace. We are living in the pattern that God created us to live in. The principle is true no matter which day you observe the Sabbath. When we don't live by this principle we become fragmented in our lives and worship.
Words matter. We need to substitute better words for . . . "we are going to church". We don't "go to church" - the church gathers for worship. We need to make sure that our children and grandchildren learn the concept that we are gathering together the church to keep the Sabbath as commanded, so that we can help each other in becoming the church, the body of Christ, in the world. Let's make sure we have a better and more Biblical understanding of gathering the people of God together. mjm
