I enjoyed going to the rugby last Saturday - especially as Gloucester won! But I have to admit that I found the whole experience a little odd. There I was, surrounded by die-hard fans who knew exactly was was happening, when to shout, when to celebrate, when to try and drown out the chants of the opposition, when to jump up and down, etc., and I just felt a bit uncomfortable joining in. As I thought about it afterwards, I began to wonder how similar it might be to going to church for the first time. Church can be so familiar to us that it is hard to imagine what it might feel like to a new person. We stand, we sit, we sing, we pray - not thinking that our behaviour could appear to be odd or strange - and maybe just maybe new people find this a bit uncomfortable if they're not used to singing, or don't know the songs or if praying out loud is just something they've never even heard, let alone done and as for the standing and sitting at the right time - what is normal to those who are part of the church community could seem very odd indeed. Food for thought maybe?
As it is, I'm hoping to go to the rugby again, but first I'm cribbing up on the rules, etc. during the Six Nations so I've got a better idea of what's going on!
No comments:
Post a Comment