What is God doing in the Church?

I recently participated in a Holy Qurbana when I had this thought.

Clueless!

The Holy Qurbana (Eucharist) was going on at its pace. Songs were followed by prayers followed by responses followed by songs. Some people were singing, others were not. Someone was going out of the Church, some one was coming in. Children were playing at the back. Some were making the sign of the Cross at the appropriate times, others were standing still. Some had hands folded., others had hands in their pockets. At the altar some people seemed lost in thought, some were singing along, some were fiddling with the books, while others were going through the motions. Everyone seemed to be doing their own thing; the Qurbana was going on and everyone was pretty much clueless!

The thought occurred to me. The Lord of Lords is sitting at the altar. What will the Lord be doing? Is he observing these happenings? What is He thinking? What does the Lord do during the Holy Qurbana?

Is He like the Indian King of the old movies, sitting on the throne, the centre of attraction at the scene of a performance, nodding His head in acknowledgement, accepting the prayers? Is that our idea of God?

Is this like in the setting of a Qawali or Shayari session, where the Lord is saying "Wah Wah"* at the songs we sing? Is that how we feel the Lord reacts when appeased?

All the people in the Church seemed like busybees, wanting to finish off what they were doing, so that they could get out, to do other important things in their lives. While the Lord seems to have no qualms sitting at the altar all the time. Is the Lord the only person in the Church who has a lot of time to kill?

It then dawned in me - the Lord's work never ends. 

He has been busy preparing the people, slowly prodding them to come to Church (despite all excuses they throw up). He has been continually and patiently nudging someone to repent, even though he keeps sinning instead. Maybe someone in the Church that day maybe at the door of death, maybe this is his or her last Holy Qurbana - the Lord is trying till the very last instant to save that soul. He is actively engaging the person, He is trying to make him focus, so that He may repent, so that he may have communion with the Lord, so that the Lord may enter into his weak body and try to work from within him. 

The Deceiver is always on prowl

The Lord knows the danger of the Devil waiting to devour the person, and is trying His level best to snatch him away from death. He is constantly working with each person. He is making the sacrifice at the Cross carve salvation out for every single person. Maybe someone in the Church that day has sinned a grevious sin and is unrepentant. The Devil has hardened his heart. The Lord is actively trying to melt his heart to guide him into confession and reconciliation.

Maybe someone in the Church that day is about to commit something sinful. The Lord is working hard to make him change his plans. 

Maybe someone in the Church that day has never led a life in the Lord, even though she has always been 'active' in the Church. The Lord is actively focussing on her to bring her to Himself. 

The Lord is our Advocate who is constantly trying to fortify our case, even though we usually throw it all away again and again, so that when the dark angels come at our death to ask for our soul, there is a case strong enough for the Lord to keep us, for that is why He died on the Cross, that was the reason for His suffering, to redeem our souls. And so His work continues through the ages.

All this work happens amidst all the commotion in the Church. The Lord is not measuring the length of the prayers, He is trying to find a moment within those prayers when He can touch us. He never rests, He is always working, and His work is always for us. 

Only if those who came to Church also realized how much the Lord worked each moment to help us escape death, we would perhaps have tried a little more not to hurt Him. Perhaps then, we would enjoy the Church a little more.

* Typical reaction to a Shayari session in an South East Asian setting.