Sunday Reflections

“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of God’s creation: “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot, I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing. You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich.” (Rev. 3:15-18)

I came across a disturbing video on YouTube the other day, which discussed the many reasons why church attendance is declining in the Catholic Church and in other churches. Only about 17% of people attend church on Sundays once or twice a month. For many Catholics it began in 1968 when Pope Paul VI wrote Humanae Vitae, his encyclical on birth control. In addition, the rise of secularism, consumerism and affluence has shifted people away from needing God. More recently, the sexual abuse scandals among clergy and religious figures, along with the discovery of the abuse within the residential schools, have all added to the exodus of people from religion. It’s no wonder we struggle to hold on to faith or belief in God. Why attend church at all if it’s such a toxic environment? For those who do attend, what many have settled for is a kind of smorgasbord religion, that is, we pick and choose what we want and reject the rest.

It was a revelation to me many years ago when I heard that the opposite of love is not hate but indifference.  The harsh words of the angel to the people of Laodicea echo the same meaning. Ultimately, we are either for God or against God – there is no in between. Indifference is death.

The truth is, nurturing our faith by praying, attending church, reading the Bible or religious materials, doing good works, or whatever – these are all hard work that require effort. Just like persistent praying does when God doesn’t seem to answer when or how we want.  But God asks us to have faith, to hold on and be patient. In time – in God’s time – everything will come clear.

Moses needed help to hold up his arms in prayer to defeat the Amalekites.  Attending church with other people helps us to do the same, that is, to persist in prayer even when we are tired or frustrated. So, when the Son of Man comes, hopefully, he will find us full of faith.