Can I have a burger, fries and some ashes please?
As many of you know, I was raised Catholic. If you have ever attended a Catholic mass then you will know what I mean when I say that for a young person, the mass can leave quite an impression on you. To this day I can still remember sitting in the pews and carefully considering the priest in his long robes, the ceremony, the solemn nature of the proceedings, and oh, . . .the confessional.
If you want to talk about something that has the potential to intimidate a wee little lad, tell him that he has to wait in line to go into a dark closet and sit until a priest slides open a little door. The tell him that he must recite a confessional prayer, confess all his sins, and then likely recite at the priest’s instruction a few longer prayers (which you better get right) and you have all the makings for a troubling experience. Yes, I have many memories of my time in the Catholic church but one of the things that left the biggest impression on me was Ash Wednesday. I don’t know, there was something about going up to the priest and having him place ashes on my forehead that really made me think about my mortality, even as a young person. I always thought that it was kind of cool and looked forward to getting home and seeing the ashes in the mirror. It was a very solemn service and actually quite a poignant reminder that there was a God and one day I would leave this earth and meet Him. Ash Wednesday also brought about a sense of community in the church and my own family as we all received this mark and in so doing, seemed to be acknowledging that we all believed the same thing.
The other day I learned that a church was offering for lack of a better description, a drive through Ash Wednesday service. It wasn’t so much a “service” (like when people gather) but a service
to
the people who might find that to get out of a car and go into the church was in some way not agreeable to them. I did not witness this Ash Wednesday drive-through in action but found it noteworthy that a church felt it necessary to accommodate the frantic lives of some of its members. Obviously I no longer consider myself Catholic but in me the drive-through ash service made me think, “Is this what things have come to?”
Now, for those who know me, you probably know what is coming next in this writing and it is not going to be a self-righteous tirade against “those people” whose faith may be so shallow that they don’t even want to leave their car to do something that acknowledges God’s existence. No, instead it is time to look inward for all of us by considering a few questions.
Have you found that your devotional time is growing shorter or less frequent?
Do you look at your watch (often) in the church service and feel some sense of satisfaction when you realize that you are now in the “fifteen minute window” before the end of the service?
When you consider going to church, do you ever think of how much more you could get done if you didn’t go?
Do you find that your prayer life is more like a few prayer moments with little thought to who you are speaking to or what you are saying?
If these questions are too penetrating then perhaps we need to stop and acknowledge about how we too might enjoy some form of a “drive through” devotion. Perhaps a shortened service? A prompt and precise prayer absent of any real purpose?
I’m sure if we were all together and willing to confess our spiritual weaknesses we would find that for many, the spirit of the drive-through Ash Wednesday service is alive in us in some form. With people’s busy lives it would seem that
when
we can fit God into our schedule has become the bigger issue than our schedule being centered around God.
Brothers and Sisters, I expect we all have some confessing to do here. This e-mail is not about legalism, where I hope that those reading walk away with a list of “shoulds” and “should nots.” No, it is instead a call to a great good. And what is that good? Worship. Worship in our devotionals (because we can do devotionals and not worship). Worship in our church service (because we can go to church and even sing, and not worship). Worship in our prayers (because we can pray without any real consideration of a God who deserves all of our worship). The great good that God calls us to is in fellowship with Him. A fellowship where everything about how we are coming to Him to pray, read His word, go to His church, or live out our day is all done as an act of worship where the cares of the world are absent and it is just you and your Savior.
So, lets slow down and ask God to help us to truly give ourselves to Him in all of these things, and let’s leave the drive through windows for our favorite burger and fries.
For the Glory of Jesus Christ,
Rob
Feb 13, 2013