Every morning when I drive to work, a flock of swallows huddles together under one of the highway overpasses. You can barely see them as they cling together for safety, companionship and warmth. But when cars whiz by, they immediately scatter willy-nilly, flying in a chaotic waltz. They swell into swirls going a thousand different directions. Then one by one they return to the underpass. This happens over and over, every morning. Silly birds. After a while, you’d think they’d be immune to the disruptive engine noise and vibrating whoosh of the wind as tons of metal and rubber zip by underneath them.
Are we immune to disruptions? As Christians we huddle together and cling to our traditions. But when something disruptive happens often we let it ruffle our feathers. I have seen congregations burst into chaos when someone suggest a new way of doing things. People fly off the handle, as the saying goes. Everyone scrambles to take sides, often bumping into each other’s feelings. But, eventually, we all remember to whom we should cling and peacefully return one by one to our knees before His throne … until the next disruption whooshes by to unnerve us.
It may be that many church goers cling to the wrong things such as traditions and customs, mistaking them for faith. “But we have always done it this way.” “We have never allowed children at the early service.” “The minister should always preach for 20 minutes, no more.” “The women have always held Bible study at 10 am on Thursdays. We can’t possibly move it to the evening just because some women work nowadays.” The theology behind why we do what we do gets lost in the routine.
Perhaps, God’s spirit shakes us up a bit now and then to see how we will react. Will we cling to our faith, or scatter in a swell of chaotic fluttering like the swallows, seeking security in our steadfast routines and customs?
Where Did You Find God Today? 