Great Cake! Whose Birthday?

One of the little perks of working in a large clinic is that we get to celebrate at least one person's birthday each month of the year. These monthly rituals of celebration tend to be quite festive, often with Mexican-style spreads in one of the lounge/break rooms beckoning us to finish our morning clinics early so that the party can begin. As we eat, we marvel at the culinary prowess of those who provided the tasty vittles, and loudly complain about how difficult it is to work in the afternoons with such full stomachs, while simultaneously greedily shoving taquitos and chips down the throat. The highlight of the party, however, is the dessert – often a large chocolate cheesecake, dulce de leche cake, ice cream, or other dairy delights, a fitting finish for someone like me who is notoriously lactose intolerant. Yes, a large slice sounds good. Eat now, pay later....

While most of these birthday celebrations are announced well in advance, I don't always pay attention to the notices, and sometimes realize only as lunchtime approaches that something is going on, with distinct aromas of a potluck lunch wafting from the corner room and nurses inviting me to join in the festivities. I am embarrassed to say that I often do not know whose birthdays are being celebrated, and occasionally, the birthday girls (being a pediatrics clinic with mostly female receptionists, medical assistants, nurses, pharmacists and pediatricians, I am often the only male member of the entire staff) may not even be there for the celebration. No matter, as the food is still good.

Just as we sometimes party on in someone's honor without actually knowing whom we are honoring or whether the person is even in the room, it is also possible to go to church and celebrate the Lord's day without actually paying notice to God. We may enjoy meeting friends, discuss personal triumphs and challenges, break down details of the most recent USC football game, listen to good music, participate in singing, watch polished multimedia presentations, hear quotes from famous writers and experts in popular psychology and culture, listen to energetic preaching, and even take a short, refreshing nap during the sermon (I am unfortunately guilty of the latter), but exclude God from our minds, hearts and spirits. We certainly don't intend to neglect God; we simply forget to pay attention.

Jesus' words in the book of Revelation,

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” (Revelation 3:20)

is not a calling for unbelievers to open their heart's doors in order to receive Jesus as lord and savior of their lives. Instead, Jesus was addressing believers, i.e., Christians, who were gathered at the church in Laodicea. Jesus accused the church in Laodicea as being neither hot nor cold, but lukewarm. Was Jesus indicating that these Christians were gathering and doing Christian stuff, without remembering that they were bearing the name of Christ, and somehow literally left Jesus out of their conversations, thoughts and hearts?

Instead, we are called in Deuteronomy 6:5 to love the LORD “with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” When we gather in Jesus' name, may every word that we speak, may our every thought and our every action be with the intention of giving Him glory and honor alone.