If you’ve ever been a parent or otherwise responsible for a child (or certain adults), you know that messes are inevitable. The staff at Esperanza could regale you with tales of my woes attempting to keep my car clean after another incident with food or beverage instigated by one (or more) of my children. Even when I tell them that I’ve “just cleaned the car,” and they aren’t allowed to eat in it for a few days, inevitably I will find crumbs left behind by one of them stealthily eating leftovers from lunch or a previously uneaten snack sometimes the very day I gave them that warning. And inevitably, they will protest their innocence when called out on the messes they leave behind.
And as frustrating as these messes are in the moment, they are evidence of something truly important. They are evidence that my car is often full of noise and life. Sometimes that noise is even joyful! These messes are evidence that stuff is happening, and when stuff happens, there is usually evidence left behind. So it is for us in our worship and in our lives as well.
I think most of us would agree that one of the most sacred elements of worship is the distribution of holy communion – when we hear the words of promise while receiving the bread and the wine that is becoming Christ’s presence within us: “This is the body of Christ, given for you.… This is the blood of Christ, shed for you.” And this perfect, sacred moment definitely isn’t neat. There’s evidence in the bread crumbs left behind on the carpet in front of the altar. There’s evidence in the occasional wine drop that gets on the altar cloth and the more frequent wine drop that ends up on the clothes of my younger kids, as they zealously dip their bread into the chalice to receive the promise found in Christ’s presence. And there’s evidence in the joy of those who witness the holy chaos of people young and old receiving God’s grace again in these holy, messy moments.
Sometimes we take ourselves too seriously. We take our worship too seriously. But the wonderful thing about our faith is we have a God who entered into our messiness, rather than demanding we achieve God’s impossible standards. Think about a time in your life where the messiness of life led you to a richer understanding of who you are and where God was calling you. We all have experienced those moments of beauty and grace in the mess. I hope wherever you are today, you’ll find your own joy in the mess, trusting that God’s creative work is happening wherever God has put you today.
Pastor Chris