Be My People

John 20:19-23

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

__________

Once again the disciples were gathered in a room, once again the disciples hid themselves away out of fear, they didn't know what was going to happen next, the disciples didn't know what was going to happen and they were afraid; but who in their situation wouldn't be afraid, after all they had just seen Jesus being taken away, crucified on the cross and buried, their Savior, their Messiah, the one who they thought would lead them into a new era was taken away from them; what was now familiar from them was stripped away, their hope was stripped away.  

So, again, who in their position wouldn't be afraid, that's a question that I think resonates with us, that's a question that I think resonates with us now more than ever, we're afraid, we're afraid for a number of different reasons; perhaps, it's because we have lost our job and we're not sure what it is we're going to do next, perhaps we're afraid because we fall within the group that is most at risk for COVID-19 and we know that if we were to get it, it would be a death sentence, perhaps we are afraid because we are worried for someone else who is close to our hearts; again there are a number of different reasons for why we might be afraid, some of them are like the ones that the disciples may have faced, such as being taken away from what was familiar, what was assuring, reassuring, the places that gave us hope for what life could and should be.  

But in the mix of all of this, Jesus comes into the picture, Jesus comes into the picture and offers his peace, a peace that dispels the fears of the disciples, a peace that we so longingly hope to catch a glimpse of in our own lives, but it's much more than just peace that Christ offers, Christ offers something more to the disciples and that comes in the form of the gift of the Holy Spirit. The spirit that grants them power to forgive sins, to bring healing to the places that are hurting, to bring justice to the places that are in need of justice, to bring reconciliation to the places that are broken and the thing about this gift of the Holy Spirit is that we all have the power to do something in this new kingdom God has asked us to be a part.  

And the reading from Acts, which is another famous reading for Pentecost, we see that the Spirit descends upon the disciples, rests upon them and grants them the ability to speak in different tongues and then, that reading from the book of Acts, they are forced outside where they begin talking in all these different languages, the disciples are forced out of the room where they were hiding in fear, they were forced out to rediscover new ways in which they have been called to be disciples, to be the future bedrock of this thing we call the church, this community of faith, of which we all are a part.  

This passage about Pentecost, like I said in the beginning is so very relevant for us, as we begin to imagine and re-imagine what it means to be the church; pretty soon friends, you will be receiving our monthly newsletter, in it which I've written a pastoral letter that outlines some of the things we've talked about as a session and what it means for us to be the church in this season of life. Unfortunately, it means that we still most likely won't be able to gather here in this place any time soon, not just because of the restrictions about singing or making sure that we keep our facilities clean, it's more than that, it's because as a session and as a pastor and I hope that you as a people of faith understand that we should be able to gather to worship again in person when all are able to come back to this table.  

This is not a table, we're just a handful of healthy people get to come, it's not a table where only those who can come into a building like this without fear can worship, this is not a table that excludes; it is a table that includes all of God's children and so, “When we will be able to come back to worship and the space?,” I don't currently have an answer to that question, but what I can say is going forward, I'm sure that our imaginations will be able to envision some kind of new way for us to gather, as we wait for today in which those who work in our medical and scientific fields use their gifts to ensure the time in which we will be able to gather safely once again.  

Because as I said before, this is a table of God's peace, is a table in which Christ has prepared for all people. I know that worshiping at home is not the same as worshiping here in person, I know that singing the hymns when they're on the screen is not the same as being here in person or listening to Karen play the organ, but the church is much more than all of this, the church is so much more. 

I was reading through a collection of historical documents and I stumbled across this historical sermon from September 3, 1876, which outlines some of the very earliest histories of this congregation.  

There are parts of it that still resonate today, there's parts of this sermon that talk about arguments, separations, conflicts; of course, that's not to say that this sermon doesn't even touch upon such things as the fire that happened in this church, later on after this sermon was written. But what I find most interesting and perhaps most enlightening about this historical sermon is that even though it was written so long ago, there's a truth in it that we need to hear today, that the church throughout all its time and all the people who have worshiped here past, present and future, that the church here is not this building, the church is the story, the lives of every single person who wanted to be part of a community of faith; to be part of something that was more than just themselves and that is the church.  

My friends, on this day as we celebrate the gift of God's holy spirit, the gift that was given to each and every one of us, we are reminded that the church and the gifts of the Spirit are not limited to this place, before this church who has ever built, there are woman and then who either tilled the fields, did whatever various vocation, who worshiped God in their own way and when they came together to form a community of faith, it wasn't the building that was special, but it was the people that made it special; you and me are what makes the church and that is why we can't say going forward yet, when it is we will be able to gather together in person, because it's all of us that makes this community of faith a rich expression of God. 

And so friends, that is why on this day we continue to look towards what it is the spirit is calling us to do now, the ways in which we can be the church in this new time and era, we know that the Spirit of God is with us, the question becomes now how will we respond to the gifts that the Spirit has given us. Probably down the line in the summer, perhaps that looks like doing some outdoor worship, most likely we will be worshiping outside long before we come back into the sanctuary, perhaps it means that we find new ways to be more intentional about connecting with one another, perhaps it means we try some new things which we've already been doing, but we continue to push the boundary of what it means to be God's people. 

If I were to say anything, I would say that that makes me a little stressed about the future, but it gives me hope, it gives me hope and encouragement, because I know and I hope that you know that God has called our church, the people who are the church to be the hands and feet of God wherever it is they go and whatever it is they say and do. I want to sort of come to an end of this meditation by reading this little poem or song, I don't know which one it is, unfortunately there's no information about where it came from, so I don't know if this was original; an original piece, but it talks about what this church here might look like in a hundred years: 

“Who will pass along our village street a hundred years to come, who will tread this church with willing feet a hundred years to come, pale trembling aged and fiery youth and childhood with its brow of truth, the rich and poor on land and sea where will the mighty millions be a hundred years to come. We all within our graves, so sleep a hundred years to come, no living soul for us will weep a hundred years to come, but many others our land will till and others and our streets will fill and other words will heart will sing as gay and bright the sunshine us today a hundred years to come.”

We may not know today or tomorrow what things will look like, as we all know if there's anything we've learned these past few months is that things change on a daily basis, but the one thing that we know to be consistently true is that God is with us every step of the way, calling us to live into deep relationship with one another and with God and to do so in ways that may not seem invention, such as what we're doing right now, but all of it is still the church, all of it is still the church.  

So, friends, let us go and be God's people, let us go and be God's people for a hundred years to come and until that day, that glorious day which we can be in this place together with one another, may God's Spirit be with you, give you strength and courage, grants you rest, grant you the vigor that you need to carry on in this mission that God has given to each and every one of us, may it be so, may it be true now and forevermore. Amen.