Reflecting on the Journey
Church isn’t merely a people.
Church is a people with something to believe in!
I don’t know if we’ve always been this way, been this way right from the start … or if somehow, somewhere along the line, we changed. And if we changed, did it happen all at one, in the blinking of an eye, or was it one little bit at a time. Gradual. Unnoticed. Either way, nowadays, it seems we’ve become fixated, obsessed, on the book. Everything we think and everything we say, everything we do, has to be rooted in chapter and verse. If it isn’t written, if it can’t be read, apparently, it’s not real.
The bible’s important; even essential – let me repeat that, the bible’s important; even essential – But truth is, there’s more to god than can fit between the covers. God’s bigger than twelve hundred chapters. Bigger than thirty-some thousand verses. Bigger than eight hundred thousand or so words. And life – everything we see and hear and feel, everything we encounter and experience – doesn’t always have to be validated, verified, by what’s in the book. There are, also, things like a mouthful of words and a handful of water. Things like a pinch of bread and a sip of wine. There are families. There are friendships. And as George Strait reminds us, there are flowers growing from the cracks in the sidewalk. And god is involved in all of it. Intimately. Deeply. Enlightening and inspiring. “The Advocate,” Jesus says, “the Holy Spirit will teach you everything.” And life – real life, everyday life – will be your textbook. Each heartbeat, every breath, your bible! And, of course, that includes the journey we’re on.
A little over a year ago, now, we sold this building and traded places with the new owners. We didn’t just sign over the deed, we began writing our own gospel. And we set aside the third Sunday of each month as a time to reflect on what’s being written. To think about who we’re becoming; to think about where god’s leading. Nothing plotted or planned. Nothing scripted or choreographed. It’s been more serendipitous than that. For instance, this time … I got to thinking about a conversation I’d had with one of you about what we – as a congregation – were doing. When the conversation was over and I was walking away, I said, “Onward and upward!” Onward and upward! And the words stayed with me. They gnawed at me. I’d heard them, a lot, when I was growing up. It was something my dad would say. But this time, I couldn’t figure out what, exactly, I’d meant by them. If I meant anything.
At first, I figured it sounded like something a superhero would say. Like, “Shazam!” Or “Hi-yo, Silver!” Onward and upward! Break it down, and I guess it expressed that spirit of optimism we Americans are know for. A belief in progress and advancement and growth! Nothing is impossible! We can do anything we put our mind to! Every day, in every way, getting better and better. Is that what I meant? What I was saying? Did I think that was our slogan as a people of god? A be-all-you-can-be kind of thing? But one thing I’ve learned, over the years … Being successful, being accomplished, isn’t always enough. Being successful and being accomplished isn’t always enough.
We’re pretty typical of churchgoers, here in the U.S. We have such grandiose dreams. Dreams of fame and fortune. Dreams of power and prestige. We dream of being that city on a hill! A shining example! We want to be one of the cool kids! A congregation for everyone who’s anyone. One of those places reporters go to discover the spiritual pulse of a place. Trendy. Hip. A role model. That new paradigm everyone’s talking about. Onward and upward! Is that what I had in mind? If it is, we have a way to go!
But there’s more to becoming church than being successful. More than being a place for the up and coming. There’s, also, a matter of being faithful. Of becoming the people god intents. Of becoming who god has already created us to be. Whether big or little … Whether famous or unknown … Whether influential or insignificant … we are a people who believes god loves us! We are a people who believe – given a choice between god’s life or our own – god chooses us, every time! We’re just people – plain, ordinary, everyday! People no better! People no worse! People no different from seven billion others! And god loves us! God loves us all! Without apology! Without exception! Without excuse!
Sometimes the world wants to hear that. Sometimes it doesn’t. It’s fickle, that way. What the world wants isn’t always what god wills. But god loves, anyway. But maybe, this is one of those times. One of those times when the world wants something other than love. Like entertainment. Like amusement. Easy answers. Simple solutions. And things like love doesn’t seem important. And so, for a season … for a moment … the church gets smaller. Grayer. Yet always adapting. Adjusting. And waiting for the world to turn. To change. As it always does.
A congregation sells its building. It gathers in someone else’s fellowshipHall. And continues doing what the church has always done. Does what the church was meant to do. It proclaims love. It administers love. It rolls up its sleeves, gets down on its knees, and washes feet. It shoulders a cross and follows its god. Follows its god to hell and back. Onward? Upward? Hardly. I may have used the phrase. But that’s who we are. That’s not why we’re here. The church can meet in a Temple or in a stable … The church can be two-or-three or thousands … Two-or-three or tens of thousands … But bottom line, church is who that church trusts! Church is who that church believes in! Who they rely on! Who they stake their lives on! Church isn’t numbers. Church is god! In particular, church is the god of grace! The god of charity! The god of love! And without that, no matter how popular … no matter who prestigious … no matter how prosperous … that “church,” simply, isn’t a people of god!
It’s like we learned to sing when we were children … The church is not a building! The church is not a steeple! The church is not a resting place! But contrary to popular opinion, the church is not a people, either. At least, not merely a people. The church is a people … among whom the gospel is proclaimed! And the church is a people … among whom the good news is administered! Church is a people, of course! But church is a people with a message! A message they hear and speak! A message they receive and give!
In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us,
and for his sake god forgives us all ….
That, my friends, that is church! And that, my friends, is us!