I recently traveled to Europe. It was amazing to be in a place bursting with so many thousands of years of history. Walking around Roman baths, gazing upon gardens King Henry VIII strolled through, taking pictures with the actual Code of Hammurabi, and sitting in the halls of power where the history of the world was once decided, I was filled with wonder.Memories of past greatness overflowed every place my husband and I visited. Castles, palaces, towers, abbeys, cathedrals, loomed all around and an image of those who lived before us now sitting all around us as a cloud of witnesses permeated my mind. At one point, after a day packed with museum visits and guided tours, my husband said, “Enough with the dead people.” And, I had to agree. The overarching images of those who went before weighs heavy on a mind.
Even heavier on my heart however was the sadness I felt as I entered some of the most amazing building ever built that were designed to honor God, places like St. Georges Cathedral in Windsor, Westminster Abbey in London, and Notre Dame in Paris. The edifice itself produced wonder in the heart of the tourists who came into its great shadow. The height, the size and the ornate beauty of each building did make everyone look up into the heavens, and the shear enormity of the nave, made one feel small and insignificant. The age that built such works of art desired a lasting reminder of their devotion and hoped that ages to come would use the churches they created for worship, but sadly those uses for worship have passed.
Yes, places like Westminster and Norte Dame are still used as churches, but as I walked through their dark passages, the words Jesus spoke to the Pharisees came flooding into my mind, “White washed tombs” He called them and their lives, but these huge buildings no longer had any soul, any heart beat. Over the centuries, religion replaced faith.
The Cathedrals of Europe have become the empty tomb Jesus emerged from on the
third day, filled with reminders of Jesus, but lacking His spirit within their walls. People file through on a daily basis, they look at the cross at the altar and have no knowledge of the meaning that belongs to that image. They take pictures of painting they recognize but have no clear understanding of their significant. Priests stand to the side watching their visitors wander their halls, proud of the draw their sanctuary has upon so many, yet offer no guidance to point those wanders to the one the church was built to worship. Those “churches” are still alive. People gather in them, wait in line to enter their doors, even pay to spend hours in their halls, yet they have lost their purpose, and with that purpose gone, they are no better than museums to an ancient past that has little meaning past a passing interest in history to those who enter their doors. They have gained the whole world, but lost their souls.As I thought of the emptiness of their walls, I too thought about my own life, and how I often walk through it claiming a life committed to Christ without ever spending any real time with Him. I began to ask myself if I have replaced faith with religion, relationship with church attendance, devotion for doing. Do I look like the real thing from the outside; say the right things, act “godly”, seem pious, appear wise, but am I really just an attractive shell, that reminds others of a true faith that is now only lived out in past memories, a museum for what the Lord once did in my life? I pray that I am not like the white washed tombs Jesus accused the Pharisees of being, nor like the Cathedrals filled with people yet devoid of purpose, nor like the tomb that Jesus left behind. No, as we approach the celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus, I pray that the Spirit of the Risen Jesus fills your heart now and always.
I am so very thankful that my King, my Sovereign Lord, is unlike ancient kings and queens. I do not have to use my imagination to know what He is like, nor wonder if He will live on through history. No, the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, is so very different because He alone defeated death. He is ALIVE and His Spirit lives within the hearts of each one of His children. The Church of Jesus is not an ornate Cathedral, instead it is made up of all believers and is eternally alive in Christ.
