Comfort

I had the chance to read over some of the comments regarding the collar post on our sister blog Sacramental Nazarenes. To be honest I could probably go either way on that issue. However, what stuck out to me was what seemed to be a common thread running through the arguments of the detractors to clerical dress. The argmunent against such a tradition seemed to be based in large part on the perception, and in particular, the comfort level of the congregation and, especially those outside the church, who, it is perceived, would be turned off by such formality.

In my opinion, and it is only my opinion, the most destructive trend to hit the church in it's recent history is "seeker sensitivity." I don't say this because I have no regard for those "seeking the Lord". I wouldn't be in my current job if I felt that way. I care deeply for the lost, however, I take tremendous exception at the idea that the church should change or alter it's practices and/or beliefs in order to make church more comfortable for a "seeker."

Without going into a long diatribe about the idiocy of this notion, (it is my hope that the obvious problem of those on the outside dictating what is going on inside is problematic enough), I would rather raise the question: When exactly are those on the "inside", the regular congregtation, supposed to be comfortable? Are we supposed to be comfortable giving authority to a book that is 2000+ years old? Are we supposed to be comfortable living a life that is different from so many around us? Are we supposed to be comfortable when we claim that a virgin gave birth? Should we be comfortable claiming that Jesus of Nazareth was both fully man and fully God? Should we be comfortable declaring that God died hanging from a tree? Should we be comfortable claiming that He physically rose from the dead? Is it supposed to be comfortable kneeling on an altar and admitting our mistakes? Are we supposed to be comfortable forgiving, loving, and not holding a grudge? Or perhaps we should be comfortable affirming stories about arks, seas parting, giants slain, fire that doesn't consume, water into wine, and feeding thousands from nothing.

It seems to me that there should never come a point in the life of the church that even it's own people are ever completely comfortable. If we reach that point then surely we do not really believe the things that we profess, or even worse, have so corrupted the faith that it looks nothing like the gospel handed down by grace of the Holy Spirit.

To once again paraphrase the great Stanley Hauerwas, "It is the role of the church to be the church and to tell the world that it is the world because it doesn't know that it's the world." Sometimes that means professing, acting and even dressing in a way that makes people feel uncomfortable. If anything we need more uncomfortablilty in the church. I can't imagine that cross we stare at on Sunday morning was very comfortable to hang on, so why should things be comfortable for us?

Grace and peace,
Zack