Dreaming of an Absurd Church
As I was trying to fall asleep last night a dream about church slowed that process. A sad dream, because it reflected how absurd our church already is.
In the dream I was at the top of a long flight of outdoor stairs. At the bottom of the stairs I saw a bubbly group of children who were on their way to play with Jesus. They are stopped first by a few people who ask them questions about who they believe Jesus is and what do they believe about church and God and stuff like that. Unless they can answer the questions correctly, they don’t get to play with Jesus.
That was the basic dream, but my heart and mind immediately went into process mode and spun out meaning and absurdities. Before falling asleep and forgetting, I grabbed a pad of paper and the pen by my bed and wrote: absurdity, doctrinal test, moral test, loyalty test.
How sad that we do that to people. There are people in the world who want a living, vital, even playfully enriching relationship with Jesus Christ. They are seeking that intimacy and joy and strength from God. Yet, we the leaders of the Church of Absurdity see ourselves as gatekeepers. We think people need to hold the right beliefs before we will let them near Jesus. Answer the questions right to get a pass to the next test. Then we send everyone through a moral screening test. You have to dress the right way and act the right way and talk the right way in order to be allowed closer to Christ. As if Christ is so fragile that everything has to be so quiet and neat and orderly and right or else God will break. If these children of God pass that test then we try enforce a loyalty test. Make the right pledge, say the right vows and then you will receive the official “I am a member of the church” pass that gives access to the Presence.
Absurd. Maddening. Frustrating. Sad.
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2He called a child, whom he put among them, 3and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. – Matthew 18:1-5 NRSV
Oh, I did have one more thing I wrote on the page which allowed me to sleep: The heart of Grace cannot be tested it is already there.
I am glad the Grace of God is not as absurd as we the followers of Jesus have tried to make it become. I shared this passage at the care center yesterday and one dear lady remembered that when she first went to church at the age of 7 they tried to teach her the 10 commandments. “Unless you learn these you cannot be in the church.” Soon after that her family began attending a different church. And with tears in her eyes she remembered hearing for the first time the Jesus loved her. “Why can’t all churches teach that?”
I wonder the same thing.
