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The Makings of Christian Community

The Rev. Thomas W. Simmons IV

Watching my children grow has become one of the great joys of my life. You parents know how it is. You just want to freeze the moment so you can enjoy it forever.  You want to remember every funny little thing they do. But unfortunately you can't.   Kids are always coming up with something new to marvel at and new memories always replace the old.

Well, I had one of those moments last week at my parent's house on the Bay.  George was playing with his brother Henry and cousins James and Josh and working on the whole concept of sharing. He'd say, "Thank you for sharing," when James let him play with something. George is so polite! But when he didn't want any interference, we’d hear, "I don't want to share!"  echo through the house.

Well George…welcome to community! He is emerging from the blissful little world of George and Momma and Daddy.  The more he extends himself into the world of people, the more his will bumps up against the will of others. He learns he must negotiate and give, apologize and accept apologies. 

These are the basic realities of living in community and they never go away, do they?  We still struggle with them as adults! 

Our Scripture lessons address these realities.  They teach us how to live in Christian community, how to care for each other and how to improve and protect our relationships in Christ. 

I think most of us have a lot to learn. We Americans have fine-tuned our individuality, personal space, personal tastes and personal rights to a degree unimagined just a few decades ago.

This struck me when a friend bought a new car. Each seat had individual climate controls and the seat position was infinitely adjustable to each individual occupant's "personal comfort setting."  I like that! And that's just one example of a multitude of products, services, companies and whole industries that cater to every individual's "personal comfort setting." Ain't it grand? 

But this makes a bit relationally challenged.  It makes it hard for us to understand and live in Christian community, because in the Body of Christ we must adjust ourselves to others and serve them not ourselves. 

American Christians tend to think of the Christian life in individualistic terms.  It's me and God.  In this mindset, the church is an association of individuals who share similar values and are working together toward similar goals.  We generally choose to participate for our own benefit and on our own terms.  If a church doesn't suit me, I'll go shopping for one that fits my "personal comfort setting." If conflict arises, our response is "I'm out of here!"

But Jesus and Paul show us that Christian community should be much more than this.  Jesus says that when two or three disciples gather great things happen. "I am there with them," he says, and heaven and earth meet when you bind and loose in my name.   So we're not a social club after all! Stuff happens when we gather.  There is transcendent power here, whether we know it or not!

And it's all right here in our liturgy.  Just think of what we do every week.  "We lift up our hearts to the Lord." We don't just kneel down and stand up. We go someplace. We go there - into the very presence of the Lord. We don't just sing hymns.  We join with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven and worship God.  Heaven and earth meet here and Jesus is truly present.

I heard on the radio that George Stephanopolous has a new Sunday morning news show. The motto is "We want to change how you view Sunday mornings." I say amen to that! The ad continues, "Surprising, exciting, a step ahead, that's how we want our Sundays to be." That's the way St Peter's will be as we move deeper together in our experience of Christian community.

Paul talks about Christian community in our Epistle lessons last week and this week. He urges every individual Christian to take a look in the mirror. He says don't "think of yourself more highly than you ought to think (which is always good advice)…For as in one body we have many members…so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another."

He wants us to look at ourselves in a whole new way: as members of the Body of Christ.  He wants our self-image to be grounded in the fundamental reality that "Individually we are members of one another."  We are as closely connected to each other as limbs are to a body.

We experience this when we share communion.  We all come forward out of our private, protected little places and join together on our knees, shoulder-to-shoulder before God with our hands out waiting to be fed. We eat bread and wine and the body and blood of Jesus become part of our body and blood. We become one with him, and being one with him, we are one with each other in the mystical body of Christ. It blows the mind!

From this sacramental oneness flows everything else that we share as a Christian community: all of the joys and sorrows, irritations and challenges, new discoveries and familiar traditions. Just think of all our relationships, conversations, coffees, dinners, classes, programs, baptisms, funerals, interpersonal conflict, prayer, and the hours we spend arranging flowers, studying the bible, sweeping the McCray Hall, planning events, caring for each other and doing ministry. 

When faithful disciples, who love and serve each other no matter what, do these things, Christian community just naturally grows and thrives. People are drawn to us because where else can they find community like this? 

But community like this doesn't just "happen." It has to be created and then it must be nurtured and protected, because many things threaten community. 

Paul gives a laundry list of advice for nurturing and protecting Christian community.  Instead of being content to exchange empty pleasantries at coffee hour, he says "love one another with mutual affection."  Instead of waiting for someone else to approach you, "Outdo one another in showing honor." Instead of holding on to what's yours, "Contribute to the needs of the saints." 

Instead of being suspicious of growth and snobby toward those who are new, "extend hospitality to strangers." Instead of being touchy and easily offended, "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all."  Instead of getting in a snit and shutting people out or threatening to leave, "Beloved, never avenge yourselves." 

Jesus deals with the same subject, but he focuses on one very potent danger to Christian community: interpersonal conflict and sin.  He teaches us how to nip it in the bud lest it fester and spread like cancer.  

"If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault."  Jesus urges us to take the risk to overcome our fear, laziness, anger and reticence to humbly confront the person we feel has wronged us. If that doesn't work, we need to involve others - not in gossip, but as mediators and witnesses.  If that attempt at reconciliation fails, the issue needs to be made public and if the offender remains hard hearted, Jesus says to expel them from Christian community.

I know it's heavy duty, especially in our non-judgmental, exclusive-phobic world.  But Jesus' words show just how important Christian community is and how far we must go in nurturing and protecting it. After all, "individually we are members of each other."  Jesus will not allow one who destroys community to remain in community because unresolved conflict is like a cancer in the Body of Christ.

That's why we pass the peace to each other. It's not intended as a time to glad hand your neighbor. Rather we bless each other with God's peace and demonstrate the peace that exists between us in Christian community. If there is someone in this congregation to whom you cannot extend the hand of peace, you need to deal with that before coming forward for communion.

In our rootless, transient culture, community is something people are searching for. And here we are for them. Let's see what we can do to nurture and protect and deepen our Christian community here and see what Jesus does in our midst. I look forward to seeing that. AMEN.