Gathered and Sent

“I worship in the church of the open skies,” quipped my friend regarding his religious affiliations. He talked of his surfing and hiking as spiritual experiences of worship as if to say he doesn’t need that stuffy religion in order to “connect to God”. And that’s how we think of worship in the evangelical church, isn’t it? That we are gathering together to connect to God. And so my friend does have a point – why can’t we just connect to God on our own? Why do I need all these “rules” and “sermons” to facilitate an inward connection to my maker? It’s a good question.

But what if “connecting to God” isn’t the best way to describe our purpose for gathering? Maybe this language leads one to believe (or reveals the truth) that the reason we gather is to somehow dial-in to a spotty connection with an invisible and indifferent God. God isn’t going to do anything in our lives, so we need to come to church, sing loud, listen and try to bolster in ourselves a feeling that we’ve been close to God all this time. It’s up to us to take initiative in connecting with a God who is “there for us”.

But in Joshua 24, we see the people of God gathered under much different circumstances. In this passage, God, through Joshua, takes initiative to gather all his people. He reminds them of who he is and of the abundant grace he has lavished on them. He tells the story of his goodness to them throughout history. After this, Joshua calls the people to respond: “Choose this day whom you will serve”. The people then reply with an affirmation of who God is and who they are in relation to him. Their hearts, raptured in the story of God, are helplessly melted by God’s grace to them. How could they help but give back everything? At this point, God and his people renew their ancient covenant and mark it with a sign: a large stone to commemorate their decision to serve God. Joshua sends the people out to their inheritances with a renewed knowledge of their covenant with their God.

We could benefit by reframing our current gatherings around this ancient one. We are therefore not initiators, but impelled to gather by the God’s Spirit that draws us to one another. We do not remind ourselves of who God is, but God, by his word, reminds us of who he is, what he has done, and who we are. We do not recite so much as we respond, acknowledging our identity as people marked by God’s grace. We do not only remember an ancient covenant, God in Christ renews the covenant once more, inviting us to participate. We do not leave, we are sent, knowing that the God who gathered us is the one who also goes with us into our inheritance.