The Surfing Fly

A few Sabbaths ago we set off for church by car. Sometimes we have a long trip ahead of us, as the Hanseatic Conference in northern Germany is geographically one of the largest. This particular Sabbath we only had a 20-minute drive to the church nearest our home.

As we started our journey, we noticed a fly sitting on the hood of the car right where the hood meets the windshield. We assumed that it would quickly fly off. It didn’t. Our fly seemed to have other plans. We were soon intrigued by it and baffled by how the fly was hanging on despite what must have been considerable headwinds. After taking the first corner, we noticed that the fly adjusted the angle and tilt of its wings and then began to move its body—continually adjusting to manage the changing headwinds. It looked exactly like a surfer skillfully taking a wave. Exactly how long could it do this and at what speed would it have to let go? We watched intrigued as our fly negotiated the twists and turns of our little town’s roads at the speed of 30 mph (50 kph). Then hunching down, yet still surfing, it took the speed of the 50 mph (80 kph) country road in its stride.

We didn’t take our fly onto the famous no-speed-limit Autobahn. But we probably would have been loath to do so, as we had by now developed feelings for this doggedly persistent fly that seemed to be insistent about coming to church with us, and we began cheering it on. As we turned into the church’s parking lot, we let out our breath—our fly had made it!

Church needs to be a safe place, a place of nurture and acceptance. A place we feel seen, known, accepted, and loved.

It was really just your average little fly, but this remarkable journey gave us plenty to think about. Exactly how eager are we about going to church? Would we put in similar efforts to get there? The temptation to roll over in bed on Sabbath morning with the comforting idea that one can watch the service later online is tempting. And it’s not just the warm covers that are so tempting. There is also the thought, Will I even be missed if I don’t turn up at church today? Yes, we do go to church to worship God, but we also can and should worship anywhere, individually and privately. Church is all about worshipping God collectively. And so church needs to be a safe place, a place of nurture and acceptance. A place we feel seen, known, accepted, and loved.

That Sabbath morning we felt that perhaps we could learn something from our eager fly. Something about hanging on to the solid Rock, something about the flexibility of really listening, something about adjusting to the changing headwinds without becoming rigid and defensive, something about hanging on to each other and refusing to let go. After all, Jesus said: “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). That kind of church will be as irresistible as honey to a fly.