Restoration with the Church

Just look around and you will find those who stepped away from the Church. They are family members, friends and even some koumbari (godparents) who decided to leave the Church. Ask them why, and you will hear all sorts of reasons. We may not agree with why someone walks away from the Church, but we must agree their restoration with the Church is a priority.

I have never heard anyone say they ‘walked away’ because they awoke one day no longer believing in Christ. It normally happens more organically. ‘Life happens’ in different ways for different people. ‘Life gets in the way’ for everyone at one time or another. We skip one Sunday. One Sunday becomes one month. One month becomes a year, etc.

Brethren, do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? “Lord, they have killed thy prophets, they have demolished thy altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. What then? Israel failed to obtain what it sought. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that should not see and ears that should not hear, down to this very day.” And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a pitfall and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs for ever.” So I ask, have they stumbled so as to fall? By no means! But through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean?

Romans 11.2-12

Today’s reading from Saint Paul reminds us that people have been ‘walking away’ for a long time. Saint Paul understood that, by God’s grace, the absence of some meant the Church ‘had room’ for others. God even “hardened” the hearts of some of the Jews so the Gentiles could be saved. Is the same thing happening today?

God knows the heart of every human, believers and non-believers. He knows the faithful and those who are unfaithful. There is a movement of many converts coming into the Orthodox Church today. At the same time, many of those born in the Church are ‘walking away’ for one reason or another. I meet both in my ministry, and both are vitally important for the Church because both are important to God.

The restoration of those who walk away reaches far beyond the local parish. Depending on which research you ‘trust’ there are thousands of denominations of Christianity in the world today. If even half the studies are accurate, millions of Christians need to be restored to the Church.

Millions of Christians are searching for God’s grace, and the Church often sits quietly on a street corner with barely a sign inviting them inside. I encourage you this week, in the spirit of the Feast of the Holy Apostles, to reach out and invite them ‘back’ to the Church.

We have family members and friends who used to attend Church, but for a variety of reasons have ‘walked away’ from Church. Go find them and invite them to come back. As Saint Paul teaches, if their walking away made room for others to be saved, just imagine how many more can be saved if they come back. The Church will ‘find room’ for more chairs. The Church will build more temples if we need them, but the truth is, most parishes already have plenty of empty seats. Let’s fill them. Let’s help those who ‘walked away’ be restored to the Church. It begins with an invitation.