Where God Is

By the Rev. David Petersen

We attend worship on Sunday mornings to be forgiven. We might learn while we are there. We might even enjoy ourselves. We might feel refreshed and encouraged. But that is not why we go. We go because God has promised to be there for us. He is in His Word and Sacraments.

But God is everywhere. Why do you have to go to church? Because God is not everywhere in the same way that He is in His Word and Sacraments. He is in fire, but you won't find your soul cleansed by putting your hand into it, nor will it feel very good.

God has promised to speak in His Word. He reveals Himself to us. He shows us His will for our lives. He shows us how we should behave, what we owe our neighbor, what kinds of things we should think and say. His Law accuses us. It convicts us. It shows us our sins and cuts us low. But God's Word also reveals His grace and mercy, that is also His will for our lives. He wants us to be saved. He shows us the scars in Jesus' hands and feet. He reminds us of the resurrection. He proclaims His love for us and makes us clean. He forgives us anew.

He has also promised to be present for us in the bread and the wine. He comes in the body pierced and crucified, raised up alive out of the grave, and ascended into heaven. He joins our bodies to His body, to purify and sanctify us. We drink His lifeblood and we live. The angel of death passes over us. We are safe.

This is the way God delivers us. Sometimes we feel it. The worship service takes us to great spiritual and emotional mountaintops. We glimpse the great comforting depths of God's Word. We learn things. But not always. We are glad when it happens. We are thankful. But sometimes we start and end sad or wind up even sadder than when it began. A lot of times we are just bored. But we live by faith, not by feelings. We trust what God has said. He is and will be whom He says He is. We are and will be whom He says we are. He is and will be where He said He will be. So we'll be there too.

The Rev. David Petersen is Pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana.