| Rector’s
Sermon
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| So, two or three, huh? That’s what Jesus says, we only need two or three and he promises to be there. Not to argue with Jesus, but I would have thought that we could count on Jesus to be with us all by ourselves. You will remember the story called “Footprints” which had made the rounds a number of years ago and which was very popular when in a dream a particular Christian sees his or her lifeline spread out like footprints in the sand and he or she is puzzled by the fact that over the huge portions of the shoreline there are two sets of footprints, one for the Christian and one for Jesus, but that over the rough and more treacherous sections of the shoreline there is but one set of footprints. The Christian then asks Jesus why there weren’t two sets of footprints in the treacherous places as well as in the smooth places and Jesus responded, “That’s where I carried you.” Many of us think of Jesus as the kind of good friend who is with us in even our loneliest moments and perhaps especially in our loneliest moments. I have no doubt that that’s true, as it’s been true for me. But in this reading from Matthew’s gospel, Jesus isn’t talking about personal piety, he’s talking about the Church, about what we are doing this morning. Well, I’m delighted that there are many more of us than two or three here this morning, so I’d like to add several zeroes to the equation and say that whenever there are two hundred or three hundred gathered in Jesus’ name, he is here among us. And so Jesus makes a distinction between what it means to be a Church, which is to say what it means to be a community and any other association we might have with Jesus as individuals. The key word here is “community.” It has to do with those things we can only do or be together. And the wonderful thing about this morning is that we do gather in Christ’s name. The name of this particular church is “Christ Church,” which says upfront we’re different from other communities because we have a loyalty to as well as a dependence on the one in whose name we gather. I’m also conscious on this particular Sunday and on many other Sundays as well that not everyone was raised with Christian familiarity, that there is a certain amount of “ought-ness” associated with church, or that all of this is a bit overwhelming, that there is a language we speak here that’s somehow foreign to you. If that’s the case—and I doubt there are many here, including me, who have not at least from time to time wondered what all this is really all about—let me say first and foremost, “You are welcome here.” That will be my one word for today’s sermon, taking George Burns’ advise that “The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, and then having the two as close together as possible.” Welcome. Welcome to church school classes where every child is loved and affirmed. Welcome to Communion which is what the Christian community offers as the meal we share with one another just as Jesus shared it with his disciples. Welcome on this particular day to the Ministries Fair with every conceivable kind of opportunity for Christian service and Christian formation, opportunities like the Rummage Sale or the Soup Kitchen or the Alpha program or Bible study or Book Discussion Group. Welcome to a tradition of worship that embodies Word and Sacrament, Scripture and Communion, and at this service and in this particular church really good music. And welcome to a community in which we hold each other up and support one another in circumstances that are unbearably sad like the funeral Friday for 44-year-old Andrew Fischer, and in circumstances that are effervescent and joyful such as Abby Hodges’ and Brendan Walsh’s marriage yesterday. During Communion our choir will sing “Plenty good room in my father’s kingdom, just choose your seat and sit down.” God’s kingdom is something we can anticipate and look forward to, but God’s kingdom is also right here, right now. Plenty good room at Christ Church, and you’ll be sitting right next to Jesus. |
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