It was
September 1990 something and the Sunday Morning Service was about to start. And
then they came in.
They arrived
after the service started and all eyes were focused on them as they made a bit
of a ruckus trying to get inside the sanctuary; especially since some of them
were in wheelchairs.
They were
adults who had some disabilities and all lived with a young couple who had
driven them to church.
I was up front
and hadn’t noticed them until they started to sing during the worship portion
of the service. Their voices were loud and they enthusiastically waved their
hands in the air.
In all
fairness, they did sing on key; just not the same key as the rest of us!
During
the message they were attentive and responsive to my preaching.
After the
service I was able to introduce myself and thank them for attending our
service.
The
following Sunday they returned and once again “interrupted” the tranquility of
our sanctuary. Once again, they had trouble getting to their seats. Once again,
they sang “off key” and enthusiastically waved their hands during worship.
The
couple who brought them told me that they had returned because this was the
first church that had accepted them. All other churches that they had gone to
had asked them not to return because of the commotion that they caused.
I told
them that they were welcomed and that I appreciated having them in the service.
The
following Sunday they returned and once again “interrupted” the tranquility of
our sanctuary. Once again, they had trouble getting to their seats. Once again,
they sang “off key” and enthusiastically waved their hands during worship.
This went
on for several weeks and then THEY came to talk to me; religious Rachel and
Ralph. THEY had been sitting watching all of this, week after week, not saying
anything as their own comfort levels were being stretched.
THEY
issued a complaint because THEY thought that these people were too much of a distraction
and wanted to know what I was going to do about them.
I replied
that I wasn’t going to do anything because this group of adults wanted to be a
part of our congregation and communicated that other churches had asked them
not to return.
And then I
shared how the couple who brings them each week told me a story about one of
the women who came each week and who was the loudest in all aspects; including
singing, clapping, and trying to get to her seat.
This
woman, I was told, got up at five-o-clock in the morning every Sunday, got
dressed, and waited by the front door so that she wouldn’t miss the van ride to
our church.
On some
Sundays she would get so excited anticipating going to church that she would
have a seizure as she stood by the front door waiting to go.
I told
“Rachel” and “Ralph” that this group of adults were now a part of who we were
as a church.
I asked
“Rachel” and “Ralph” when was the last time had they set down their
preconceived ideas as to what was pleasing and acceptable to do during worship?
Then I
asked them when was the last time that they had a seizure or fainted because of
anticipation of going to church?
In Psalm
84, the writer exclaims that he faints in anticipation of being in the house of
the Lord.
He says that he LONGS to be with the Lord;
“How lovely is your
dwelling place,
O Lord of Heaven’s
Armies.
I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord.
With my whole being, body and soul,
I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord.
With my whole being, body and soul,
I will shout joyfully to the living
God.”(Psalm
84:1-2)
King
David wrote in Psalm 122:1
“I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
He longed to be in the presence of the Lord and
with God’s people.
My friend,
when was the last time that you pushed through all of the obstacles that
prevented you from being in church?
When was
the last time that you had a seizure or fainted because of anticipation of
going to church?
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