Saturday we had a cleaning party at the mission.  We have two rooms, which for lack of other options have served as storage for the last several months.  With our growth as community and with the fall schedule requiring more space, we could no longer use classrooms for storage.

So we had a Clean Up Day, and a band of merry volunteers showed up to move, rearrange and clear out all the stuff.  We made piles and we threw some things away.  There were pieces we passed on to others who could use them and there were things we put in our fancy new storage building.  Cleared of all the clutter, the rooms can now be used for their intended purpose.

Collecting too much stuff seems to be a hazard of living in the modern age.   It is a constant battle in our churches, homes and lives.

Honestly, I wish the cleaning out was as easy for my own life.  With all the bits and pieces I carry around inside, I sometimes wonder if I’m too full of stuff to be able to be useful.  Some of it of course is necessary, but there are pieces I hang on to that I know are just taking up space.

I guess that is one of the reasons I cling to the power of confession and forgiveness in worship.  While some say we are just bringing people down with all the talk of sinfulness and brokenness, I see it as a clean sweep for the soul.  Acknowledging out loud that my life has filled up again with brokenness and stuff that clutters my soul is itself cathartic.  But hearing the promise that in Christ my sins are forgiven is joyous good news!  It means the room of my soul has been swept clean, and I am a new creation, able now to be used for my intended purpose in life.

And so week after week, we all come to worship with the accumulated stuff of life, and Christ offers to take it, to leave us clean, that we can be used for God’s work in the world.

The Long View is Pastor Liz’s mid-week observation of our regular stories, and how they may show the Spirit at work.