Why Are We Here Together? – August 9, 2021
Old Testament, Hebrews 10:19-25
August 8, 2021
Very quickly this became a follow-up sermon. It was great being with my kids last week, and it was fun being “with” all of you in worship. And my thanks to Lee for running the Facebook Live part of the service. And, of course, my thanks to Kari for giving us all “the good word.”
And it was good, wasn’t it? She asked, “Why are you here?” What are we doing here when we worship God? If you haven’t heard that sermon, I encourage you to go on the church website and listen.
Well, this week, I’m thinking of the question she asked, “Why are you here?” and I’m taking it one step further. Today I’m asking, “Why are we here together?” All that she said was important when it comes to worship – setting things aside, taking a pause, and giving God our complete attention. That’s right on the money. I try to say that to you each week as we begin. But today I want you to think about the second thing that I often say at the beginning of worship. And that has to do with God being with us in a special way when we gather in his name. So it’s not just “Why are you here?” It’s “Why are we here together?”
I got to thinking this week about what’s been happening this past year, and how it has affected the Church. Covid has changed a lot of things! Just think about that for a moment. What things are different than they were 18 months ago. (Notice that I’ve stopped counting the weeks – like I did for a whole year!)
One of the things that covid has changed is the age-old question I’ve talked about before. It used to be that the question was, “Can I be a Christian and not go to Church?” You’ve heard me talk about that one a lot over the years. But there’s a secondary question to that, a question more subtle, a question more telling of the modern age. And that question is, “Why do I have to come to Church, when I can watch it on TV?” And if you think about it, even that’s not a modern idea. Before that, it was “Why do I have to come to Church, when I can read the Bible myself, or read a good inspirational book?” You see, that’s not really a new question at all, is it?!
Well, the new version of that question is not just, “Why do I have to come to church if I can watch it on my TV?” It’s now, “Why do I have to come to Church, when I can watch my Church on TV?” And the video streaming service has been a good thing! I shudder to think what we’d have done during covid if not for our internet services. Or Zoom meetings!
But I still remember how each modern change made me feel when they were introduced into church life. Computers, cell phones, internet, social media. Each one made me feel a little strange and a little bit apprehensive. “What have we done?” “Have we sold out to the modern world?” Those seemed like “worldly things,” and now they were being brought into the Church. Yes, I’ve had those feelings! I felt very strange last year when I began preaching to a cell phone!
That made me think back to one of the biggest technological changes ever in the life of the church. It took place in the year… (Who knows?) 1450. That’s the year Johannes Gutenberg perfected his movable type printing press. And the number of pages that could be printed each day went from 40 pages printed by hand to 3,600! That changed the world!
But these changes today seem as monumental as that! I’m convinced that the next greatest thing after the printing press was word processing! But with each new thing, I’ve found that, despite their use, and even abuse by people in our modern world, they can be, and have been, very beneficial to the life of the church!
Of course, I never thought I’d see the day when people would be sending phone messages to each other in Church! Me included! I would have thought that to be like “passing notes” years ago. And that was wrong, why? Because it was distracting. That’s what we have to recognize and be careful of! Up here, our messages usually consist of things like, “I can’t hear the words of this song.” Or “There’s some distortion in the sound.” We’re not up here chatting about upcoming meetings, or where we’re going for lunch.” At least not that I’m aware of!
Last week, Kari did such an amazing job of telling us that one important part of worship is giving God our undivided attention. And that is so important! And when we forget that, we do so to our detriment! That is foundational to the nature of worship. But then we have to talk about what I think is the next most important thing, and that is community! We are here, together!
We picked up today on last weeks’ scripture from Hebrews. And Paul had just spent the first part of this chapter, the part we didn’t read, saying some monumental things to those Hebrew Christians. He told them that their whole system of sacrifice and atonement was being abolished, and it was now replaced with the “once and for all” sacrifice of Jesus the Christ. Those had to have been shocking words to those Hebrews! And they were more shocking coming from a former priest and Pharisee! And then, in his conclusion to all of that, he included these words about being a body of believers. He said, “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.”
That’s the answer to the question in my sermon title. “Why are we here together?” We are here together to be here for each other! Isn’t that true? We are here together to be here for each other! We are here together to encourage one another. We are here together to help each other make that connection to God – the connection we are seeking to make.
That’s Paul’s statement to us today. He’s saying we are here together to be here for each other. We don’t just watch on TV or computer screen or cell phone. We are the body of Christ when we are in the body of Christ. We encourage. We upbuild. We do all of those wonderful New Testament, Pauline kinds of words! We help one another make that connection with God. And as we think about that, a good question for each of us to ask is, “What might I be doing to hinder another person’s connection to God?” Because that can happen, too, can’t it?!
Over the years, one of the discouragements for me personally is what has been happening to the sense of community in the church. In about the ‘70’s, we started talking about what has been called the “me generation.” Do you remember that? Everything became all about the “me,” the “self,” the “I!” That affected the church, too. Among other things, it has hurt what I’ve called “Church loyalty.” My home congregation will always be my home congregation – not just a church I grew up in and used to go to! I am no longer officially a “member” of that church. Because ministers are not members of any church. But I would be! And I still consider it my home.
But over the years, I started seeing people leave the church. And I started hearing them say, things like, “I don’t go because I’m not getting anything out of it.” or “I’m not being fed.” or “I don’t like… whatever!” And I would say, and I believe I’m with Paul on this, that the Church is all about the pronoun “We!” And that’s hard to understand sometimes, since we’re now in the age of “I”! Somebody cleverly pointed out years ago that there’s no “I” in the word “team.” Well, there isn’t one in “Church, either.”
Together, we are the body of Christ! Together we gather to worship God and encourage each other! And yes, “gathering” has been tough this year! Our form of worship has been disrupted by covid, too. And we’re doing the best we can to deal with that. This is not the final form of what we’re going to be doing in the future. But in the meantime, as we go through this, I encourage you to keep encouraging each other in making that connection with God, even as we seek to move forward in however it’s going to look. And I encourage you to come here, as Kari said, seeking true worship in your hearts, and encouraging each other in that, as well!
And let us rejoice that we are here together! We are the Body of Christ! And as we sang this morning,
In Christ there is no East or West, in him no South or North
But one great fellowship of love, throughout the whole wide earth!
We are part of that great fellowship, throughout the whole wide earth. And we are the Church, the body of Christ here in this place! Maybe you sang this song in the ‘70’s.
“The Church is not a building, the Church is not a steeple,
The Church is not a resting place, the Church is the people.”
That was a song written by (?) Avery and Marsh. It was some time in the early ‘70’s. It’s actually number 217 in our hymnbook! And the Chorus goes,
“I am the Church. You are the Church. We are the Church together.
All who follow Jesus, all around the world, yes, we’re the Church together.”
Prayer
Eternal God, as we gather here as the Body of Christ, help us to know your presence, and to feel the power of your Spirit in our midst. Teach us how to upbuild your body here on earth, that together we may glorify your name, that the world may see your light through us. For we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.