It's Sunday Morning and No Place to Go

I've never thought of myself as a creature of habit. I've always put the accent on flexibility rather than routine. Yet, I found myself waking up this morning at my usual Sunday morning time, the time I get up to prepare myself for the day's worship, feeling somewhat lost. It's Sunday morning and I have no place to go!

The habit is strong, I'm discovering. For years, I have had the same Sunday morning routine. I have gotten up at 5 a.m., showered, dressed, and headed off to church. There I pray, reflect on my Sunday morning worship responsibilities, making sure they are in order, and in the quiet of the sanctuary, go through the message of the day, until other staff come to make their preparations.

This morning, as I woke at the normal Sunday time, my inner preacher started the routine until I remembered that this Sunday morning I have no place to go. Worship has been cancelled due to inclement weather. There is no need for the regular preparations. The key is on flexibility rather than routine.

Strangely enough, I find that already I am missing worship at Grace Church: the preparations, the gathering of the church family, the prayer with the choir, the "break a Christian leg" quip, the liturgy and music that draw us into a deeper experience of God's grace, the privilege of sharing the scripture and message.

I am reminded that the worship of God in Christ in community is woven into the fabric of my being. I know that there are persons who say that they can "worship God by themselves or on the beach or golf course or ......" I even understand the sentiment. We can experience our love and devotion of God on our own. Yet, I can't help remembering that worship in the Bible is always communal. "Where two or three are gathered in my name..." There is a connection between a gathered community and worship. Basic to God's design of worship is the gathering together of God's people.

Suffice it to say, I miss the gathering of God's people this morning for worship. I miss the conversations, the interactions, the connections, the hearing of God's Word shared in the midst of a community. It's Sunday morning and there's no place to go.

For today, Mark and I will be "two gathered in Jesus' name," but I look forward to worship next week with the entire Grace Church community. I look forward to next Sunday morning when I will have a place to go.