Thought for the week: The church exists for the benefit of all
It is important, and indeed necessary, that we all take time off from what the hymn writer calls "the daily round, the common task" and enjoy some rest and relaxation" – " a time ‘to re-charge the batteries".
In the gospel reading for tomorrow Trinity 8, there is a prime example of a person who sought rest in a remote place, but never was able to take it. Jesus said to His apostles: "Come with me, by yourselves, to some remote place and rest a little." They set off in a boat, but many hurried on foot and arrived there first.
When Jesus and His apostles disembarked, the people immediately recognised Him; and they began to carry to Him on pallets those who were ill, begging Him to be allowed to touch even the tassel of His robe; and all who touched it were restored to health.
Church of Scotland theologian and New Testament scholar Dr William Barclay suggests that Jesus ‘must have looked on at the crowds "with a certain wistfulness, because there was hardly a person who had not come to get something out of Him. Their demands were insistent. It was always a case of getting something from Jesus."
What a difference it would have made if, among these crowds, there had been some few who came to give, and not to get. In a sense, it is natural that we should come to Jesus to get things from Him, for there are so many things that He alone can give:but is it not shameful to take everything and to give nothing, and yet it is very characteristic of human nature.
I’m sure it has always been the case, and doubtless it will never be any different, but there are those who make use of the church. Seldom, if ever, to be seen at worship, they desire the church to baptise their children, marry their young people, and bury their loved ones. What firm, or business, could exist, or flourish, if it operated on similar lines? It is their unconscious attitude that the church exists to serve them, but that they have no duty whatsoever towards it.
If we examine ourselves, we are all, to some extent, guilty of these things. It would rejoice the heart of Jesus if more often we came to Him to offer our love, our service, our devotion, and less often to demand from Him the help we need.
All the while, however, we also need to realise that, as early 20th century Anglican archbishop William Temple once said: "The church is the only society that exists for the benefit of those who are not her members." There is always the chance, too, that through a baptism, marriage, or funeral - some occasional office – a person may turn over a new leaf and become involved in church life.