Pay attention and get connected with God

A few years ago, my family and I were heading home from church when suddenly we got a flat tire. Just before the blowout, my level of frustration was already growing. For our family, the drive home from church is a time to talk about the morning. My wife and I ask our children what they learned in Sunday School, and we discuss at length the pastor’s sermon.

Sometimes the trip home from church or the talk at lunch concerns Sunday morning dislikes, missed opportunities, or things that should have been done differently, too often lacking what God was saying to His people.

This can render valuable feedback and is often constructive for those of us in ministry, but on occasion it can digress into arguments or quarrels and ruin the day. A flat tire only added to my frustration that morning.

I pulled over to change the flat, took off my suit coat and rolled up my shirt sleeves. Changing a flat in good clothing means that there is no way to keep clean.

I grumbled and got out of the car, then looked up to see a man standing at the back of my car asking me to “pop” the trunk. I quickly glanced at his attire and wondered why he stopped. As soon as I opened the trunk, the man had my tire jack out and quickly had one side of the car in the air with my family still inside.

My shock had me stumbling over words. He looked up as he brushed off the sweat of his brow and asked me if I was coming from church. I replied with a simple “yes” and then proceeded to clutch the lug nuts he held for me to take.

“Isn’t it frustrating when things like this happen on Sunday,” he asked, “especially when we are coming from church in our good clothing?” I laughed and agreed. He soon had my tire changed. He finished without giving me a chance to do any of the work.

My wife handed baby wipes out the window. I handed him a wipe and shook his hand to thank him. I collected my thoughts and asked, “Can I give you some money for helping us out?”

He replied, “Absolutely not!” Then said, “For years I have passed cars on the side of the road because I was in a hurry, but today I heard a sermon that did not let me pass you by.”

What was the sermon he heard at church? The parable of the Good Samaritan. We both understood and chuckled.

In the New York Times best seller “Social Intelligence,” author Daniel Goleman says that people on busy streets worldwide are less likely to notice, greet or offer help to someone else because of what sociologists have called the “urban trance.”

Studies have shown that we fall into self-absorbed states on crowded streets, an attempt to prevent stimulus overload. We shut out the compelling need of those around us as simply another distraction of life.

For example, we give no attention to the unbathed, long-bearded man sitting outside the library asking for money, and then respond to the well-dressed outgoing woman who is asking for signatures on a political petition just inside the library door. When we simply pay attention, we allow ourselves to build an emotional connection. If we lack the attention, we find that empathy has no chance.

Perhaps “urban trance” isn’t the only thing with which we Christians struggle. I think those of us in the church suffer from a type of “church trance” as well.

During services, Bible studies and especially the sermon, we fall into a self-absorbed state in an attempt to restrain having to take up our cross. We allow the beauty of law and gospel to hold us back or let us off the hook instead of freeing us to make a difference in the world.

If we actually would allow God’s word to sink in, we may begin to have more than empathy, more than a desire to stop and help someone with a flat tire. Ultimately we may decide to live and act as Christ to our neighbor and to the world in the daily moments of our lives.

When we pay attention to what God is saying to His church in and through the word (read and preached), we allow ourselves to have a connection to the living Christ. If we lack the attention, we may find Christ having no chance in our lives and the lives of our neighbors.

Let’s snap out of our trances and truly begin living!

By Bob Henry
First published in The FWLutheran November, 2009