2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual
milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now
that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men
but chosen by God and precious to him—5 you also,
like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house
to be
a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable
to God through Jesus Christ.
6 For in Scripture it says: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen
and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will
never be put to shame.
7Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to
those who do not believe, The stone the builders rejected
has become
the capstone, 8 and, A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall. They stumble because they
disobey
the message— which is also what they were destined
for.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises
of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of
God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received
mercy.
__________________________________________________________________
A few weeks ago, with the death of Pope John Paul II, the
world was given a rare glimpse at the workings of the Vatican.
We were able to see how the funeral for
a Pope was organized, who was responsible to lead the Church in the interim,
how the next Pope was chosen. Documentaries were produced that provided an
insider’s
view of the Vatican and the workings of the Roman Catholic Church at its
highest levels.
It was fascinating to see and begin to understand the plans that are in place
to deal with whatever issue arises when one Pope dies and another is elected.
It was also interesting to see the bureaucracy of the Church in action because,
when there is such an incredibly large organization, a bureaucracy is very
necessary.
Bureaucracies tend to be treated with disdain nowadays. But the truth is
any organization needs to have such a mechanism in place.
In just over a month now, the General Assembly of our denomination will be
meeting. For a whole week commissioners to the Assembly will listen to reports,
make policy decisions and set the tone for the work of the Church for the next
year and for years to come.
The Assembly is a significant time for the denomination.
It’s necessary
to gather together and make decisions based upon reports and information provided
by the denomination’s bureaucracy. We recognize its importance.
Yet, at the same time, it’s imperative for Roman Catholics and Presbyterians
and any group of Christians, in a connected Church, to realize that the Church
is not ultimately a bureaucracy. It’s not just a process that makes
decisions.
Neither is it, ultimately, a physical edifice made out
of brick and mortar. The Church as a whole, and the congregations
that make up the Church, are much
more than the buildings we look at and say, “There’s a Church.”
The Early Church, made up of the first generation of believers
after Christ’s
resurrection, didn’t even meet in specially designated buildings.
As William Barclay writes: “Nowadays we freely use
the word Church to describe a building. There is not a single
instance of that usage of the
word in the New Testament, it always means a group of people pledged and
dedicated to Jesus Christ and to each other.”
The Church has within it an organization that does things and makes decisions.
It has, as a part of it, recognizable physical buildings. But neither a bureaucracy
nor a building can do justice to what the Church really is.
What the Church ultimately is, is people—a “people who belong
to God.” That’s one of the phrases Peter uses in our lesson
from 1 Peter 2.
In just a few verses Peter crams in all kinds of wonderful
descriptions of the Church—each one offering a symbol of people gathered together. Peter
writes the Church is made up of “living stones”. It’s a “spiritual
house”, a “holy priesthood”, a “chosen people”,
a “royal priesthood”, a “holy nation” and finally a “people
who belong to God.”
Elsewhere, Peter called the Christians he wrote to “aliens and strangers.” They
were in the minority. They weren’t understood. They weren’t part
of the mainstream. They weren’t always appreciated. They weren’t
always protected from those who sought to make life miserable for them.
They were like aliens in someone else’s country.
They were like strangers in someone else’s home.
As Barclay states there was no large Church on the corner
where they could gather. No place that was their own—recognized
and respected by others.
They were a people with no place to go to—but—they found a place
to be—to be Christians. Together, in small groups—in house Churches,
they came to understand the love, caring and support that came from God and
was reflected to one another. They found a place to be united—a place
to be strengthened and empowered—a place to be valued—a place
to be sent out from, into a hostile world, with purpose and hope.
Their “place” wasn’t a building.
It wasn’t developed enough to be a mechanism to set
and implement policy.
It was a community—the Church—the people who
belong to God.
Amidst our attempts at community our society relishes rugged individualism.
The entrepreneurial spirit is something that is admired. Many of our heroes
are those who beat the odds to succeed. Competition is honoured at least,
if not more, than co-operation. Getting ahead, accomplishing personal goals,
doing and being the best we can be are success mantras we hear and even say.
Now there is nothing wrong with individualism, in and of
itself. The problems arise when it crowds out other perspectives
and other methods of accomplishing
things—when it’s rugged individualism takes over and sets the tone
for everything else. Compassion for the poor and less fortunate can be edged
to the side. Grace for those who aren’t able to cut it in life can
be seen as weakness. A sense of community can be lost or redefined as a
collection
of individuals trying to get along.
In the Church individualism has been something we honour when we emphasize
that our God is a personal God. Our God created us and knows us as individuals.
We are unique and loved for who we are. God has given each and every one
of us different and special gifts. God is interested in our personal journey,
our personal struggles, our personal growth. God loves us as if there was
only one of us in the world.
Now, all of this is true and can be tremendously affirming and powerful as
we seek to mature in our faith.
But there are dangers to it. One of the dangers is that
faith and prayer and worship can mainly become times when
we seek our own personal “me and
God” moments. God is special because God loves me. God answers my
prayers. God intervenes to solve my problems. God touches me with this
or that kind
of music. God spoke to me through that sermon.
Again, such a personal relationship isn’t wrong. It’s a wonderful
thing. The problem arises in terms of emphasis—when “me and God” pushes “God
and us”, “God and us and the world” to the side.
Henri Nouwen put it this way:
“Our society encourages individualism. We are constantly
made to believe that everything we think, say, or do, is
our personal accomplishment, deserving
individual attention. But as people who belong to the communion of saints,
we know that anything of spiritual value is not the result of individual
accomplishment but the fruit of a communal life.
Whatever we know about God and God's love; whatever we know about Jesus
- his life, death, and resurrection - whatever we know about the Church
and its ministry,
is not the invention of our minds asking for an award. It is the knowledge
that has come to us through the ages from the people of Israel and the
prophets, from Jesus and the saints, and from all who have played roles
in the formation
of our hearts. True spiritual knowledge belongs to the communion of saints.”
The Church is not a bureaucracy.
The Church isn’t a building.
The Church isn’t a place just for “me and God”.
The Church is made up of “living stones”. It’s a “spiritual
house”, a “holy priesthood”, a “chosen people”,
a “royal priesthood”, a “holy nation” and finally a “people
who belong to God.”
All of Peter’s images have a communal ring to them.
They speak of a union of people into something unique and special.
There is a sense of community that not only nurtures the individual but demands
that the individual work together with others to accomplish more than personal
goals.
There is the concept of a large, extended family with a place for everyone—even
that strange Uncle or eccentric in-law or miserable cousin.
There is a unity of holiness—male and female, young and old, multi-cultural,
multi-ethnic—diversity in all its forms.
There is a fellowship—a community—a people who belong to God—who
put their focus on God and get their focus from God—who work for God—who
witness to God—who dedicate themselves to the diversity of interests
and concerns that God has—and that’s an awful lot!
Indeed, the only way the Church can do the work God has set out for us, is
to use all the individual strengths and gifts and interests possessed by its
people, working together as a team, to accomplish what we could never do by
ourselves.
In his book Border Crossings, Rodney Clapp says, "A
noted Western philosopher, introduced to the world in 1926,
was one day sitting on a log when he heard
a buzzing sound. He was puzzled and fell to pondering. As his leading chronicler
remembers the event, the philosopher reasoned along the following lines:
" 'If there's a buzzing-noise, somebody's making a buzzing-noise, and the
only reason for making a buzzing-noise that I know of is because you're a bee.'
" Then he thought another long time, and said: 'And the only reason for
being a bee that I know of is making honey.'
"
And then he got up and said: 'And the only reason for making honey is so I
can eat it."'
" Now, even though this philosopher carries the strange title of Winnie-the-Pooh,
and even though his work is mostly appreciated by children, this bit of
reflection deserves our serious attention. After all, it resembles the way the
American
church is more and more thinking about God and discipleship.
"
This incident shows Pooh to be a pragmatic individualist. He cannot imagine
the bees possessing an existence and purpose apart from his own use and interest.
The Pooh is the quintessential consumer, entirely practical and entirely self-centered:
The only reason for being a bee is to make honey, and the "only reason
for making honey is so I can eat it."
" Thus reasoning, the Pooh has a range of other possibilities blocked from
his vision. He cannot see, for instance, the wider ecological purpose of bees,
how they weave into a fabric of flora and fauna not only by providing honey,
but also by such crafts as pollinating flowers. Another thing Pooh cannot
see
is a theological purpose for bees: that in the wonder of their existence,
they speak and spell the glory of a Creator God."
The Church: A people who belong to God.
That’s a definition.
It also expresses our theological purpose—that in the wonder of the
Church’s existence we—together—speak and spell the glory
of a Creator God.
(1770)
© The Rev. Dennis Cook, St. Timothy’s Presbyterian
Church, Ajax, ON, Canada
