Temptation

This last Sunday in church the message was on temptation.  I know that as I listened I had a sudden epiphany, which I planned to blog about.  The only problem is that for the life of me I can't remember what it was.

Valla kyrkan, Tjorn

Anyway, after church service I sat with Elias for another 10 minutes in the church.  He can't seem to ever sit still during a service.  He is like a volcano in 900 pound boots stomping throughout, and making so much noise during the service.  And while no one ever says anything, it seems important to me that he learn to be still and just listen and wait quietly.  So we practiced sitting still together after everyone left the sanctuary.  Because to me it is important, whether my children grow up believing or not, that they learn to show respect to their surroundings.

The thing is, that those 10 minutes sitting together in silence in the church were probably more meaningful for both him and me than the whole service that went before.  He sat well.  We talked a little about what one can do during the service to keep focused.  I remembered counting the lights in the ceiling and the boards in the ceiling when I was a kid.  I encouraged him to do simililar things.  And we got to talking about our church, Valla Kyrkan.

The church we go to was built in 1648, before the US even existed as a political state.  And it is beautiful and well built and large and many things are ornate and covered in gold.  And to me this is the real meditation I sneak too whenever I can't focus on the sermons, that people hundreds of years ago, with none of our modern technology, could and did take the time and money to build such a beautiful building.  There are many traditional handcrafted elements in our church, including the toll painting and carved ships and everything.  And while we don't know the names of who made these things, the fact that they took the time and the care to do so, when it was in no way easy, strikes me with awe everytime I look at it. 

The catechism (which I never learned as a child) says that the reason we exist is to glorify God.  This last Sunday with my 6 year old we sat there and could see the evidence of people glorifying God, going beyond their normal ability to make something bigger than themselves, but together as a community. And I can say that as we discussed it and looked around, and sat quietly, it felt like he began to understand what going to church is about.

Original altar at Valla Kyrka, courtesy of Creative Commons

I wonder sometimes if there is not something to the idea of a temple, of a special place that is not a strip-mall church being rented for the sake of expediency, or a tent carried around in the desert.  In our haste to do what is easy, what is quick, do we lose site of what is important?  God is certainly not in the building.  But perhaps the building of temples is necessary more for ourselves than for God.  To learn to show some respect, both for God and our own sake.
And maybe that is the big temptation we all have every day.  To not take the time.  To choose the quick and easy over the meaningful.  To not show the respect to ourselves, others, and our God, that they all deserve.