Christian Groupies

We read about it in the Scriptures. Crowds would gather around Christ every time He spoke. Many even went from town to town to follow and be with Him. They filled houses and covered mountain tops. Wherever Jesus went, the crowds followed.

At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Jesus, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen. Herod said, “John I beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him. On their return the apostles told him what they had done. And he took them and withdrew apart to a city called Bethsaida. When the crowds learned it, they followed him; and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God, and cured those who had need of healing.

Luke 9.7-11

Throughout the centuries crowds have always gathered around Christ and, after His Resurrection, His Church. Towns grew up around Churches. Travel to any ‘old time’ town even in America and you will find a church at the center of town. Not so much anymore.

Now, when a community builds a village, the center is a place of commerce rather than a place of prayer. Town centers are now shopping malls where people show their devotion to wealth rather than to God. In many cases, the last consideration for ‘where to live’ is the location of the Church.

I know this, because I regularly hear, “There is no Church near me,” as an excuse for not attending Divine Services. I know that wealth has replaced God because when I ask why people live so far from the Church, I am given a list of financial reasons.

Crowding around Christ and His Church has degraded to such a sad level that many parishes quickly become ‘Sunday only’ gathering places. ‘Sunday only’ eventually becomes ‘holidays only.’ ‘Holidays only’ lead to ‘weddings and funerals only.’ What’s left is one final rare visit for our own funeral, and lately even that has been replaced by cremation.

As a Church we have been struggling to address the fall in attendance with all sorts of programs. Folk dance programs, athletics events, and a huge variety of social events fill our parish calendars. Even the social events are slowly becoming a thing of the past as they become too costly to host, and attended by too few people to justify the effort.

What is left when everything else fades away? The dances and sporting events are always more exciting and entertaining when performed by professionals. Our youth prefer the winning streak of their school sports team over the mandatory ‘everyone gets the ball’ policies of Church sports. We’ve seen this before.

When the desire for wealth, comfort and entertainment replaces the desire to be with God, we are lost in the darkness. When we choose to follow finances rather than God, we lose ourselves in daily stock reports rather than prayer.

It is never too late to gather around Christ and His Church, but it requires making a choice. When the crowd in today’s Gospel lesson heard where Christ was, they chose to go be around Him. They could have remained home, but they chose Christ.

Choosing Christ requires movement. Choosing to gather around Him requires going to where He is. He promised, long before He was incarnate, to be present for His people. (see Genesis 29) His Body and Blood are physically present on the Holy Altar Table. There is no other place on earth, than the Church, where we can be in the physical presence of God.

Crowd around Him in His Church. Relocate your family to live closer if you must, but become His groupies. The response from God was, and always will be, that He blesses those who gather around Him. You’ve heard the news. Now gather your family and crowd around Him.