Februay 9, 2021
I’m going to ask a couple questions, which may seem easy, but might be harder than you think to answer. What is the church? And who is it for?
What is the church? Some people might say it is a building. Others might say church is Sunday worship, or the longest hour of the week. Some might say it is arguing with my parents (I don’t want to go to church!) Or arguing with my kids (you’re going to church!)
What is the church? Before March last year, we might say, it is a building. Our church is a building. But towards the end of March last year, that definition got a little shaky. Well, if church was a building, and we weren’t there, we still worshipped, we went to church, but without going to the building. We worshipped at home. Or in the airport in Chicago. Or on a patio in Florida! So then, if church isn’t a building what is church?
A year ago, we might also say church means Sunday worship. And that holds up during last Spring’s stay-at-home time, to a point. We weren’t in the church, but we did worship, through Facebook and YouTube. However, some people didn’t have internet. So, ok, for them we mailed out sermons. So, is church a sermon? I don’t think any of us would say church is a sermon. A sermon is part of church, but it is not the church.
The second question is “Who is church for?” Many people think it’s for good people. When I was a kid, my friend’s mom didn’t go to church, and she said she would go once she bought a nice dress, which didn’t happen. Is church just for people who dress nicely? Is it just for people who understand the way we do things around here at church?
To figure out what the church is and who it is for, we start with Jesus. What is church? In today’s gospel Mark 1:29-39, it begins with Jesus and his disciples leaving the synagogue.
In his ministry, Jesus did visit the synagogue: a building, and he did visit the temple: a huge building. But most of the time, Jesus was not in a religious building. That’s where today’s gospel, Mark 1:29 starts; Jesus has left the building. He and his disciples, James and John, go to the home of Simon Peter and his brother Andrew. Simon Peter’s mother-in-law is in bed with a fever, and they are concerned about her and they immediately tell Jesus. Verse 31 says, “So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her, and she began to wait on them.” That evening, the whole town gathered at the door of the home Jesus was staying at. People brought the sick to Jesus for healing. They brought those that were demon possessed, and Jesus cast out demons.
Verse 35 says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37and when they found him, they exclaimed, “Everyone is looking for you!”
Jesus has just begun his ministry, and his disciples are thrilled with how popular he is. Everybody loves Jesus! They want to see him and hear him and watch him perform more miracles. He is a big hit!
“38Jesus replies, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” Jesus is saying he has not come to settle down in one spot. Jesus has come to get on the road again. Jesus started a movement to share the good news of God’s love.
To answer the question, “What is the church?” Jesus didn’t settle down. we can say that church is a movement of followers of Jesus Christ, who share the good news of God’s love. The church is a movement that can keep going without a building. We need Jesus Christ, we need other followers, but a church doesn’t get too comfortable and settle in!
Over the centuries, church got more settled. For the first three centuries, they didn’t have church buildings. They met in the synagogue and in people’s homes. But finally, Roman Emperor Constatine made the Christian church the official religion of the Roman Empire. Church buildings were built, and people settled in.
Over time, the pull on the church was “Let’s just focus on us, those of us inside the church.” Jesus did the opposite: he was determined to get on the road again and bring the good news to more people. Whether he taught in a religious building, on a boat, on a plain, or on a mount, Jesus’ focus was to get out on the road again. Why? Because Jesus came for people who don’t know God. Looking at Jesus, we see the church is a movement focused on reaching beyond itself.
The second question is, “Who is church for?” I think we have learned this year that church is not just for the people who dress nicely. You can worship at home in your pajamas! But who is church for? Is church for good people? Mark 2:15-17 relates to who church is for: “15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed Jesus. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’
“17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’”
Who is the church for? According to Jesus, it is for sinners. That is the opposite of what the religious leaders at the time thought. But church is for all of us, because we are all sinners. None of us are any better than anyone else; we have all sinned. The church is for everybody. Church is for people who haven’t been to church in a very long time or have never been there. Church is also for churchgoers. Following God means we need to grow spiritually deep. Church helps those who are part of it to grow deeper in relationship with God. But Jesus puts an even higher priority on reaching people outside of religious circles. So we are movement that is both deep in faith and wide in our reach.
Our stay-at-home time helps us appreciate that church happens, even in difficult times, and even away from traditional buildings. Today worship is happening in more homes. The Christian church has found itself on the road again, or maybe more like surfing the internet. The road we are on isn’t just a road for cars. The road is on Facebook and YouTube. The church is going places we haven’t gone before. The pandemic has helped us realize we are not a building. The church is a movement with deep roots and a wide reach.
It’s been a really rough year. It’s often through struggles that we find God in new ways. I don’t wish this pandemic on anyone! But there is good in the bad.
My challenge for you this week is to find a reason to thank God for the places we found God and experienced church this year. In our new “Run to Win Together” group, we have noticed that getting on Zoom can be a blessing: you don’t have to go out in the dark and the snow, you can stay safe at home and enjoy being church together.
So, find some reason to thank God that church is on the road again. Thank God church is a movement and that he pointed us to the reason Jesus came: to help us know God’s love, and to bring the good news to someone who hasn’t heard it yet. Amen.
Maureen Duffy-Guy's blog 