There
is a twofold pattern to most of Paul’s letters. In the first part
Paul sets forth what God has done for us in Christ, and what God is
doing through the Spirit, and then in the second part he draws out
the implications of this for us, for our lives, and for our life
together as the church. Or, as an old preacher used to say, “There’s
a believin’ part to the gospel, and there’s a behavin’ part.”
And
Paul’s letters tend to follow this pattern, with a believing part
followed by a behaving part, and the transition is usually marked by
the word “So” or “Therefore” or, in the translation from The
Message, “In light of all this . . . “
In
the first part of his Letter to the Ephesians Paul writes about the
reconciling work of God, how in Christ God has broken down the
barriers between Jews and Gentiles (and by Gentiles he means all of
us). “God came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off (that is
us) and peace to those who were near (that is his fellow Jews), for
through Christ both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.”
Then Paul goes on to write about how the reconciling work of God in
Christ is the basis for his own ministry among the Gentiles. “This
grace was given to me, to bring to the Gentiles the news of the
boundless riches of Christ.”
And
all this is the believing part, and then he comes the behaving part,
which is the part I just read. “In light of all this,” Paul writes,
“here’s what I want you to do.” Then he goes on to spell out how we
should live together as ones who have experienced in our own lives
the reconciling grace of God in Christ. Stick to the way, Paul
says, and stick together. Be there for each other. Do not let your
differences come between you. Forgive sooner rather than later.
Find common cause in Christ. Let him direct your work, with everyone
lending a hand. And never forget that you are in this together.
Now
Paul knew that in the church we can be tempted to go our own
separate ways, and for all sorts of different reasons. Even his own
churches struggled with this, which is why Paul devoted so much
space in his letters to encouraging the faithful to walk on the same
road and in the same direction. He knew just how hard it can be to
stay together with so many different people, bringing so many
different backgrounds and perspectives and priorities. Life in the
church can be a little like trying to herd cats sometimes.
The
well known preacher, Fred Craddock, recalls a conversation that he
once had with a fellow pastor. He was a good friend of mine,
Craddock said, serving in the largest church in town. In many ways
he was a very successful pastor, except that his church was full of
problems, and after awhile, it just wore him down. Now one day I ran
into him, and I asked him how he was doing.
“Terrible,” he said. “I’m thinking of quitting.”
“You’re not serious?” Craddock replied.
“I
am. You know what I’m going do,” he went on. “I’m going to buy me a
little piece of land down south, and I’m going build my own church.
There will be a study where I can work, and a tall, beautiful spire,
and that’ll be it. No sanctuary. No Sunday school rooms. No
fellowship hall. No members. Just me and God.”
Now
I must confess that there are days when I get to thinking . . . just
me and God . . . that sounds kind of good. You see our family has
this little cabin up in the woods, and it is real quiet, real
peaceful, and almost problem free. And the thought has crossed my
mind, a few times, but then I remember that we cannot make a church
out of just me and God. None of us can.
And
that reminds me of another story. There had been no time to talk to
the other children in the Vacation Bible School class about the
little boy who came late, and there had been no time either for the
teacher to find out how the little boy had lost his left arm. So the
teacher was a little nervous, and understandably so, nervous that
the other children might embarrass, or even worse, tease the little
boy.
But
taking a few deep breaths, she started the lesson. No problems
there. The little boy handled the coloring and pasting just fine.
Snack time too was no problem. The little boy gulped down his
juice, and gobbled up his snack, right along with the other
children.
Feeling much relieved, the teacher invited the class into the center
circle for their closing time. “Let’s make churches now,” she said,
leading them in one of their favorite activities. And putting her
hands together she said, “Here’s the church, here’s the steeple . .
. “ And then it dawned on her. Oh, my gosh, she thought to herself,
what have I done?
And
as she sat there speechless, not knowing what to do, the little girl
who was sitting next to the little boy reached over with her left
hand, and taking the little boy’s right hand in hers, she said,
“Here. Let’s make the church together.”
Out
of the mouths of babes. You see there is no other way to make the
church. Either we make it together, by the grace of God, or we do
not make it all. There is just no such thing as a church of one.
“Where two or more are gathered together, I am there,” Jesus said.
There are just some things in life that we cannot do alone, and the
church is one of those. Where two or more are gathered, Jesus said.
That is where the church begins. Two or more.
Some years ago we started taking the confirmation class up into the
organ loft to show them the blowers and the pipes. And afterwards,
we ask them, “How is the organ like our church?” And when we get to
thinking about it, we find that there are quite a few ways in which
the organ and the church are similar.
The
organ has many different ranks, with each rank of pipes being the
sound of a particular instrument, and our church is like that as
well. There are many different people in our congregation, and we
are all gifted in different ways. Just as each rank contributes to
the overall sound of the organ, we each have something to contribute
to the overall ministry of our church. And as Paul often reminded
his churches, there are not better and worse gifts. All gifts are
important, and all are needed. What matters to God is whether we put
them to use, within the church, and in service to the kingdom. Few
things sadden God more, I believe, than our unused, God-given
gifts.
It
is not much of an organ that plays only one note, or uses only one
rank of pipes. The more notes played, the more ranks used, the
richer and fuller the sound, and the same is true for our
congregation. We need the faithful involvement of everyone if we are
going to live up to our high calling to be the Body of Christ in the
world. The ministry of the church is never just a single melody
line, with only a few of us carrying the tune. Musically speaking,
the ministry of the church is made up of chords, and chords are
notes played together, just as the church is people working
together, all of us being the church together.
Now
the pipes do not sound unless there is air blowing through them, and
there is no bearing of fruit in the church unless the Spirit is
moving in and through and among us. Without me you can do nothing,
Jesus said. We need the Spirit, and we must be open to its leadings,
always asking ourselves, “Who is God wanting us to be, and what is
God wanting us to do, as the church here, in this place, and in this
time?”
Finally, we can have the blowers on, and be playing all the notes,
and using all the ranks, pulling out all the stops, as it were, but
if the organ is not in tune, then so much for the sound. In our
passage from Ephesians Paul provides a list of virtues, as he does
in several of his letters. If the church were an orchestra, these
virtues of kindness, patience, humility, compassion, love, peace,
they are like the oboe. They give us our pitch; help to get us, and
to keep us, in tune with one another. Again, it is not that we are
all supposed to sound the same. The more varied the sounds the
better, but we do need to be in tune when we sound together, walking
on the same road, as Paul says, going in the right direction.
In
just a few moments nine of our youth will confirm their faith and
become members of our church, and I want to say a few words about
our confirmands. They are a gifted group of young people: musical,
athletic, theatrical, insightful, creative, cooperative,
conscientious, energetic and humorous. Suffice it to say, they are
going to be adding a few more ranks of pipes to the organ that is
our church, enriching and enlivening the sound. Having worked with
them all year, I can attest to the fact that they are a spirited
group, and I mean that in the very best sense of the word.
Now
I know that there can be something of a generation gap when it comes
to the faith. The faith of one generation can sometimes be a little
jarring to the faith of previous generations. That happens. But
trust me; even if they sound a little different, these confirmands
are in tune with the faith. As a last assignment, we had them write
letters to God about their journey of faith so far, and it was a
privilege to be able to read them. They were thoughtful, touching,
funny, inspiring. So they are in tune.
Not
that they have everything figured out already. But we assure them
that that is alright. We tell them that we do not have it all
figured out yet either, that none of us does. Faith is a way after
all, a daily walk and a lifelong journey. We do not get there, until
we get there. So what matters is that we are on the way, walking on
the same road, as Paul says, going in the right direction.
And
they are doing just that, and I want to encourage the rest of us to
come up beside them on the way. Now I know that many of us have been
doing that already with these confirmands, walking beside them, but
I have come to learn through the years that reminders are good. So
take this as a gentle reminder. As their church family, keep walking
with these confirmands, and whenever possible, come up beside them,
get to know them, work side by side with them, encourage them. Put
out your hand and take theirs, all as a way of saying, “Here. Let’s
make the church together.” Amen.
