As We Gather
Exodus 16:2-5; Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
November 7, 2010
As We Gather …
There is a time for every purpose under heaven, indeed, including a time to sing and shout for joy, and a time for lamentation; a time to speak, and a time to remain silent; a time for new things to be born and a time for things to die; a time to shed and a time to gather together. The truth is, most times are some strange, often compelling mix of all of that and more.
Such are the times of our lives, and the season we find ourselves in right now. We do live in times of great difficulty, but also times of miracle and wonder, times of great hope and promise.
I think the great mix of times that is our time compels us, in particular, to treat this time as a time to gather together. We’ll do that in a few moments here at the table of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Being together is a gift, and it beats the heck out of being torn asunder, being alone and apart.
Moreover, being together at table is a particular and powerful grace.
Why?
Because at this table we encounter an invitation and a promise – an invitation to new life and a promise that such renewal is not only possible, it is in the very order of things. I know that some of us are bearing the gloom of an election cycle that did not seem to be the harbinger of hope, but when we gather together – and the gathering, the being together, is essential – when we gather together here all things are possible.
The challenge that lies at the heart of the invitation is profoundly difficult though remarkably simple: follow Jesus. That’s it. That’s what our gathering here – at table, in this sanctuary, week after week after week, for all our yearning years – that’s what our gathering is all about. It’s not about the politics of the moment. It’s not about moving to the left or to the right. It’s certainly not about following Barack Obama or John Boehner. It’s about following Jesus.
And so the only question we need ever ponder is the simple one: are we following Jesus?
It’s not a creedal statement about virgin births or bodily resurrections or sitting at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. I don’t believe that any of that matters a whit, though if you choose to believe it all or none of it at all, your choice is fine by me.
Consider, for just a moment, the oldest classic creedal formulation: I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only son our Lord who was conceived by the Holy Ghost – comma – born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate … and so on.
The actual life of Jesus reduced to a comma between the birth story and the crucifixion.
Compare that as a summation of Christian belief to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew or the Sermon on the Plain in Luke: love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, give to those in need, be merciful, judge not, pick up your cross and follow me.
I simply don’t care about the creeds except as interesting historical markers.
What I really want to know – about you and about me and, especially, about us as a community, is quite simply this: are you, am I, are we following Jesus?
Because if the answer to that is no, then gathering here does not matter a single bit. It simply doesn’t.
We can recite creeds till we’re blue in the face, but if we’re not following Jesus, then we might as well stay home in bed on Sunday mornings; we should just chuck the whole enterprise.
But, if we are following Jesus, then God knows what is possible among us.
If we are following Jesus, then lives are going to be transformed in our midst.
If we are following Jesus, then it is a time for faith, hope and love to abound in our gathering.
If we are following Jesus, then it is a time for life and new life in our gathering.
If we are following Jesus, then it is a time for a season of spirit in our gathering.
If we are following Jesus, then it is a time for doing justice in our gathering.
If we are following Jesus, then it is a time for feeding the hungry in our gathering.
If we are following Jesus, then it is a time for welcoming the outcast in our gathering.
If we are following Jesus, then it is a time for caring for the least of these in our gathering.
If we are following Jesus, then it is a time for making peace in our gathering.
If we are following Jesus, then it is a time for breaking bread in our gathering.
So: are you following Jesus?
If you want to be, then come to this table and be fed, for the way is long and we need bread for the journey. Let us gather together at the table of our Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord. Let us pray.
November 7, 2010
As We Gather …
There is a time for every purpose under heaven, indeed, including a time to sing and shout for joy, and a time for lamentation; a time to speak, and a time to remain silent; a time for new things to be born and a time for things to die; a time to shed and a time to gather together. The truth is, most times are some strange, often compelling mix of all of that and more.
Such are the times of our lives, and the season we find ourselves in right now. We do live in times of great difficulty, but also times of miracle and wonder, times of great hope and promise.
I think the great mix of times that is our time compels us, in particular, to treat this time as a time to gather together. We’ll do that in a few moments here at the table of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Being together is a gift, and it beats the heck out of being torn asunder, being alone and apart.
Moreover, being together at table is a particular and powerful grace.
Why?
Because at this table we encounter an invitation and a promise – an invitation to new life and a promise that such renewal is not only possible, it is in the very order of things. I know that some of us are bearing the gloom of an election cycle that did not seem to be the harbinger of hope, but when we gather together – and the gathering, the being together, is essential – when we gather together here all things are possible.
The challenge that lies at the heart of the invitation is profoundly difficult though remarkably simple: follow Jesus. That’s it. That’s what our gathering here – at table, in this sanctuary, week after week after week, for all our yearning years – that’s what our gathering is all about. It’s not about the politics of the moment. It’s not about moving to the left or to the right. It’s certainly not about following Barack Obama or John Boehner. It’s about following Jesus.
And so the only question we need ever ponder is the simple one: are we following Jesus?
It’s not a creedal statement about virgin births or bodily resurrections or sitting at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. I don’t believe that any of that matters a whit, though if you choose to believe it all or none of it at all, your choice is fine by me.
Consider, for just a moment, the oldest classic creedal formulation: I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only son our Lord who was conceived by the Holy Ghost – comma – born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate … and so on.
The actual life of Jesus reduced to a comma between the birth story and the crucifixion.
Compare that as a summation of Christian belief to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew or the Sermon on the Plain in Luke: love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, give to those in need, be merciful, judge not, pick up your cross and follow me.
I simply don’t care about the creeds except as interesting historical markers.
What I really want to know – about you and about me and, especially, about us as a community, is quite simply this: are you, am I, are we following Jesus?
Because if the answer to that is no, then gathering here does not matter a single bit. It simply doesn’t.
We can recite creeds till we’re blue in the face, but if we’re not following Jesus, then we might as well stay home in bed on Sunday mornings; we should just chuck the whole enterprise.
But, if we are following Jesus, then God knows what is possible among us.
If we are following Jesus, then lives are going to be transformed in our midst.
If we are following Jesus, then it is a time for faith, hope and love to abound in our gathering.
If we are following Jesus, then it is a time for life and new life in our gathering.
If we are following Jesus, then it is a time for a season of spirit in our gathering.
If we are following Jesus, then it is a time for doing justice in our gathering.
If we are following Jesus, then it is a time for feeding the hungry in our gathering.
If we are following Jesus, then it is a time for welcoming the outcast in our gathering.
If we are following Jesus, then it is a time for caring for the least of these in our gathering.
If we are following Jesus, then it is a time for making peace in our gathering.
If we are following Jesus, then it is a time for breaking bread in our gathering.
So: are you following Jesus?
If you want to be, then come to this table and be fed, for the way is long and we need bread for the journey. Let us gather together at the table of our Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord. Let us pray.
posted by David Ensign at
12:17 PM
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