Sunday 10 a.m. Here – and we were there
Between Christmas and the New Year we used a rare chance to spend a couple of days with our children in a lodge in the Bayerischen Wald – snow covered the countryside and blissful peace and quiet filled the air. On 31st December we attended a church service in Passau. We had difficulty finding a parking space and arrived just as the service was beginning. On the outside wall of the church we could read about what we could expect inside: “Why am alive? Who am I? Does God exist?” Our expectations were high!
200 expectant people were sitting in the church. We had found a place towards the back and before we knew it the service was in full swing: songs coming from the heart, a sermon about the real power of God and then the highlight: 7 men and women talked about their former lives. A former New-Age-Freak, who used to be addicted to heroin, spoke about how he was able to get out of death-bringing spiral. A young woman got goose pimples when she told us about her meeting with God when she hit rock bottom. A mother, whom doctors had told for years on end that she would never get children, spoke about her baby. An asylum-seeker also addressed us. The former Muslim led his breathless-audience through the stations of his adventurous life-journey: after several tribulations he gave his life to Jesus in Afghanistan. The reason was his boss, an Armenian Christian, who surprised him to the utmost with her loving character. One life witness after the other, all of which paid tribute to the fact that God can act dramatically, if you call him in your hour of need.
Finally the pastor went to the microphone. He said something that I had never heard anyone say before in any church: “We are celebrating an open-end-service today. For those of us who have to go home, God bless you and see you next week. But for those of us who want to stay and enjoy the other things we have prepared, feel free!” As far as I could see, no one left the sanctuary. The time just flew by. The celebration, a.k.a. service, lasted for another hour.
“Reason, Search, Hope, Belief, Freedom, Mercy.” These words had been painted on the outside wall of the church by someone a while ago. No deception package. That was the core of the 150 minutes – a service I will never forget. /KDJ
