Please Don’t Stay Away

After more than thirty years in ministry I have painfully watched many walk away from the Church. One Sunday becomes one month becomes years without attending Sunday Liturgy. Then one day you can’t remember that last time you were in Church. This blog is for you.

If it has been a long time since you attended Divine Liturgy, I invite you to return for the blessings of God. As Saint Paul writes below, your absence allowed others ‘a spot in the pews’ to come and experience God. Now it is time for your blessing.

Brethren, do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your 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. But if it is by works, it is no longer on the basis of grace, otherwise work would no longer be work. 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

The Orthodox Church has expanded in recent years in the United States, mainly through conversion. After generations of immigration, the Church had been ‘stalled out’ until recently when many ‘seekers’ discovered the joy of Orthodox Christianity.

Honestly speaking, if everyone born into the Church attended Divine Liturgy every Sunday, there would be ‘no room’ for new people to discover the blessing and joy of Christ. This is what Saint Paul means when he says, “their failure means riches for Gentiles.”

Empty pews were filled with new believers, just as it was when the Gentiles entered the Church. And just like the Jews were jealous of the Gentiles, many cradle Orthodox are jealous of converts, but that can change today.

Saint Paul speaks of the great blessing that awaits the Church when those who ‘walk away’ return. The only thing keeping the great blessing from coming upon the Church is if you stay away. The Church is not complete without you. The blessings are not complete without you.

Today is the day you can bless the Church. Come back and see the new faces in the pews. Come back and remember the joy you once felt attending Divine Liturgy. Come back and reunite with the Church that baptized you. We are waiting for you. Don’t’ stay away. Please.

If you know someone who has ‘walked away’ from the Church, please share our invitation with them to come home. We miss them.

For a complete study on the Book of Romans, check out our Bible Study on Romans.