Abraham Lincoln is credited with saying: “If all the people who fell asleep in church on a Sunday morning were laid out end to end.... they would be a whole lot more comfortable.” Hard pews, long sermons, unsingable hymns, enforced silence and excruciating boredom...are just a few of the ingredients which make up the common image of the church. Maybe not here at Grace, but how many people do you know of who’s experience of church is something you grit your teeth through, until the aroma of Sunday lunch begins to brighten the day?

"And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it."

    Abraham Lincoln is credited with saying: "If all the people who fell asleep in church on a Sunday morning were laid out end to end.... they would be a whole lot more comfortable." Hard pews, long sermons, unsingable hymns, enforced silence and excruciating boredom...are just a few of the ingredients which make up the common image of the church. Maybe not here at Grace, but how many people do you know of who’s experience of church is something you grit your teeth through, until the aroma of Sunday lunch begins to brighten the day?

    Some associate the word "church" with "clergy"...and we’ve already talked about how our "lawnmower image" has damaged the church’s reputation. Many of those who are seeking to embark on a career as a clergy are seen as those who cannot make it in any other field. In fact, in one of the church magazines I receive, there is an ad for a seminary (not Episcopalian) which reads: "Are you 45 and going nowhere? Why not consider the Christian ministry?" Clergy are often portrayed at 6 days invisible, and 1 day incomprehensible. Does that describe the church, as well? Are we 6 days invisible, and one day incomprehensible?

    Other times, we associate the word "church" with a particular denomination. Instead of thinking of somebody as a member of the family of God, we think of ourselves as Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, or Episcopalians. Still, other times, we think of the church as a building. When I say I’m building the church...I’m not talking about the building, but I’m talking about a family.

    The Church is not the service, or the minister. It is not a denomination or a building. We have in today’s gospel, one of the few times in the New Testament where the word "church" appears. And it comes right after Peter’s confession of faith that "Jesus is the Christ". Jesus ties the two together: the confession of faith, and the church. The word Church, (in the Greek "ekklesia") refers to the community of faith, the community of the faithful. The church is every person who can answer the question of Jesus: "Who do you say that I am?".... "YOU ARE THE MESSIAH, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD." The church, and our confession of faith, are inseprable.

    Theologian and preacher, Paul Tillich, once preached a sermon in a college chapel about the presence of God. A young sophomore was deeply moved by his sermon and later asked him why she needed the church to experience the presence of God. With quiet softness, Tillich gently led her from a consideration of her personal experience of God...to the richness of a corporate experience of God. He explained to her, first of all, that he could never have preached the sermon he had preached, without first having received the Word through the corporate worship of that evening....the hymns, the choir, the reading of the scripture, the prayers and the sacraments ...were all apart of the making of his sermon. "And suppose"... he challenged her... "that I had simply come to your dorm room and read my sermon to you, how would you have received the message that was given?" He reminded her of all the riches of the ages that surround us when we are a part of the church, the community of the faithful, that we miss when we rely on a "me and God" relationship. No matter how large our hearts may be, it is simply not possible for any one of us to contain the heritage of faith that is ours as a part of the church.

The church is an essential part of our relationship with Jesus.

    The church, from generation to generation, has drawn people, healed people, helped people into relationship with Jesus. Our relationship with Jesus, our faith, is strengthened, by our relationship with one another. It is a mystery we cannot understand, but we know... "when two or three are gathered in the name of Jesus, there He is in the midst of us."  Christ and His church are inseparable. If this is true, and I believe it is, then it must be true, that when people see us, they should see Christ. When people see US,... not me, not you,... but when people see US, the Church, the community of the faithful, then they should see Christ, in the midst of our community of faith.

    William Willoman, in one of his very readable books, paints this picture of the church: "It is early on Sunday morning. A bright winter sun beams its first rays upon Bethel Church. A pick up truck arrives, and a man gets out, unlocks the front door of the little country church, and enters. He is George Smith. Every Sunday at this time George comes to the church, turns on the heat (or opens the windows, according to the season), then returns home for his breakfast before coming back for worship. Some time later, a car arrives and Mrs. Lucy Thompson enters the church and goes to the adult Sunday School room, and as usual, places her lesson notes on the lectern and arranges the chairs in a semi-circle, then sits down to wait for the first class members to arrive. Her wait is not long, for soon, two more cares roll into the parking lot, and the Johnsons and the Tates enter the church. About 10:00, a station wagon rumbles into the lot and six or seven young people, ranging in age from 12 to 17, get out of the car and enter the building. Four more cars arrive in rapid succesion, bringing the number now at church to 24. Finally, the minister, who is shared with another church 20 miles away, arrives. Sunday School classes end, and the worship service begins.

    It is a scene which is repeated across the country, even across the world, week after week. Here at Grace, its Charley, who comes by before 7am, to check the air, and open the doors. Cora is making coffee, Donald or Jack are greeting people, Michell and Sam, and the choir are warming up. Becky or Judy are changing the altar between services. Jan or Patti are refreshing the flowers. And we all gather to worship.

    It is a gathering of the community of faithful.... our rock is our common bond in the confession of faith in Jesus as our Messiah, the son of the living God.

    Individually, we are only ourselves....but together, we are the "bride of Christ". Our confession of faith makes us the Church. And the two are inseperable.

    I would like to challenge you today, to show me another way, another alternative, any other institution or group of people, who can steadfastly, and as openly and honestly, celebrate such deep spiritual moments... as the birth of a child, or the blessing of a marriage, or the celebration of death.

    It is only within the faith of our community do such moments become holy; it is only within the faith of our community of believers do such moments find meaning and completeness. And it is not just at baptisms, or weddings or funerals, but each moment of life finds meaning and completeness within the family of God.

(Today, we welcome into the family of faith, Sophie Crawford Belser, daughter of Leah and Griff Belser. In a moment, we will confess our faith, with her, and her parents and god-parents, as we remind ourselves, that together, nothing can separate us from the love of God, in Christ Jesus...not even the gates of Hell.)

    We are the church,...may we, in our confession of faith that Jesus is Lord, represent Christ to one another and to the world. AMEN.