Grace German
Church seems rather ancient. There are a lot of traditions and words in other languages. I can’t even pronounce half of the words I heard in the Old Testament reading, and there seems to be fewer people in church every Sunday.
Plus, didn’t I heard this all last week? The words certainly haven’t changed. We’re still using same book. We’re still sitting in the same pew. For some weird reason there’s an unspoken seating arrangement. I think every church has one, you know—the one that nobody talks about, but it’s always observed. You know everyone’s watching and waiting for someone who dares to switch spots.
There are the same people in church. The “ten minutes early is right on time” front row people, and the new family (whom I’ve never actually met) who comes in during the opening hymn and sits in the back row.
It gets kind of old, doesn’t it? It’s always the same. So, what’s the point of going to church every Sunday? That would be true if church were simply a social club.
I watch the news, and the world scares me. Terrorism, diseases, and natural disasters seem to happen every day. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a worrier. I know that I could wake up tomorrow and everyone I love could be gone. Everything I have could be taken away from me. That’s not just a little different. That’s a lot different. And then I think, “I could use a little of the same old thing…some stability.”
Jesus and His church is more than a source of stability. He’s the only constant in our changing world. He’s unwavering. He doesn’t falter under Supreme Court decisions or the cries of a mob. He “is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
And where is Jesus? He’s where He said He would be: Wherever two or more are gathered in His name. He’s in the sacraments: Baptism and The Lord’s Supper. And where are the Sacraments? They’re in that ancient, unchanging place of stability—His church. Every Sunday.
It’s Jesus’ Body and Blood in the Lord’s Supper.
It’s your Baptism and the assurance of salvation.
It’s still Jesus…for you.
And that will never change.
Grace German, a 17-year-old Lutheran farm girl who loves music, baking, and chai tea, is a member at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Ida Grove, Iowa.
