Blogging, for some, is an opportunity to get stuff off their chest. A rant - if you like. This is not the purpose here. Over recent weeks I have tried to tie this blog with our current preaching series, but this week we're off on a bit of a tangent!
If God is outside of time does it matter if I'm late for church? First things first - I'll put my cards on the table. Culturally and personality wise there is only one answer to that question, 'yes, it does matter'. But does that necessarily mean that it's the right answer! (We all like to think we're right after all.)
As I've been thinking about this question it has opened up other questions, and no doubt you will want to add others that I have missed altogether.
Our starting point is going to be church. Why do we come together at all? Surely part of the reason is that we come together for mutual support and encouragement (e.g. Hebrews 10:24-25). We come together to build each other up. For those who are on time it can be a discouragement to begin a service with a mainly empty building. This is particularly true of those who have given their time in the week to prepare the first part of the service. They begin and look out over mainly empty seats. Those who are present are then distracted over the next twenty minutes as people come in and the building fills up.
I tend to think of putting a service together as preparing to take people on a journey. People enter the building all having had different experiences over the past few days. Some are happy, others are mourning, others are anxious ... During the course of the service people are led from that starting point to a place where they can experience God. It then makes it very difficult for people to reach the destination if they only entered the journey half way through. There should be a point at the beginning of the service to acknowledge the baggage we bring and to trust that to God. There will be a point of confession and receiving the forgiveness of God. But if you miss the first half hour you don't get the opportunity to deal with that 'stuff'.
I sometimes wonder whether the people who are regularly late for church are equally late for work. What does this say about our attitudes towards God and His church? To me it says that I don't need to make the same effort because it doesn't matter as much. And if we are always late for work - what kind of witness is that? As Christians surely we should be the best and most reliable members of the work force.
Another question to ask is 'why are people late?' Are they late because they need to get five buses? [That in turn raises the question - surely there is a church closer to home that you could attend - but let's not go there today!] Are they late because they rely on carers or else care for others and it is just not possible to be on time - it is after all better to attend half a service than no service at all. Are they late because they don't 'enjoy' the first half an hour of what we do in church - they just want to turn up for the sermon - or even just for the coffee and to see their friends afterwards! Are they late simply because God is not a priority in their life?
Of course there are always times when we will occasionally be late. Something unforeseen will happen. One of the children will be sick all over the car. A road will be closed because of a traffic incident. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about those people who are consistently late - those who are never on time.
Some people try and convince me that lateness is cultural - but so far I'm not convinced. I've taught in Kenya and the weeks when I was on duty the students were always on time for everything - including breakfast. That could not be said when others were on duty! We all have the ability to be on time. I guess the question is, does it matter if we're not; and should it bother me?
When you've got a few minutes, pour yourself a coffee and have your say.
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