Why Church?
Pentecost 15, Proper 20
Fr. Tim Nunez
May my spoken word be true to God’s written word and bring us all closer to the living word, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
It is so good to see you! You could be just about anywhere else right now. You could be curled up with your jammies enjoying your second cup of coffee. You could be golfing or fishing or hunting whatever is in season. You could be out to brunch or at the beach. You could be catching up on a few loose ends at work that really need to get resolved. But you are here. It is so good to see you!
Those watching online could be watching anything else right now. Some of them will be watching later, but even so they could be watching anything or nothing at all. They could be on a hike or bike ride. They could be reading a book, which I gather is where a lot of movies come from. Or you could be doing nothing. It is so much easier to do nothing than something. But here you are!
We are celebrating Back to Church Sunday today because so many people drift away from the church, some losing touch entirely. That happens for a lot of reasons – changes of life and there is so much else to do, so many responsibilities to meet, so much fun to be had. God is everywhere, all the time, and this isn’t convenient. Besides, there are podcasts where we can get this stuff while driving or doing house and yard work.
Why then, are we in church? Why should we invite people to church?
It all starts with Jesus. Yes, God is everywhere all the time. Our witness is that he sent his son to at once give us the clearest vision of God’s character and his desire for us to be reconciled to him.
How do we know this? Well, the Bible, obviously. Where did the Bible come from? The New Testament about Jesus is the collection of writings that the early church deemed authoritative in communicating its witness to Jesus Christ. The Old Testament are those writings that Judaism had likewise chosen to communicate Israel’s salvation history with God.
Further, whatever Bible you’re using in whatever language and whatever translation was generated by The Church, or a church. The written word is one way, along with prayer, music, and outreach ministry, that the church has communicated the gospel around the world and across time ever since Jesus ascended into heaven.
Well, yes. But we cannot fulfill Jesus’s mission of being his body by listening to a podcast. It’s not just about what you believe or what you know, it’s about taking part in his work today. It’s happening in you. It’s supposed to happen through you.
Jesus said, “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.” (John 14:11) How’s that working for us?
Jesus makes all the difference in the world. This homeless rabbi, whose ministry lasted less than 3 years and within about 100 miles of his birthplace, is the most influential person in the history of the world, primarily through his Church striving to share his Word and be his working hands.
For example, Jesus healed people. Following him, the whole notion of public health grew out of the Church. After this sermon we will pray the Nicene Creed, which came from the Council of Nicaea in 325AD. That same council decided that wherever churches were built, a hospital must be built as well. Today, the Church is the largest provider of health care in the world.
Jesus taught people. The Church saw pursuit of knowledge as the pursuit of God and founded the whole idea of universities. The oldest in the world, Bologna, Oxford and Cambridge, were founded by the Church. One hundred of the first 110 universities in the United States, including Harvard and Yale, were founded by churches. The idea of public education came from the Church.
Human rights, unalienable rights, are rooted in Genesis and demonstrated in Jesus’s love for the poor, the forgotten, the sinners, the prisoners; “the least of these.” Slavery is illegal today in every country in the world because evangelical Christians pushed for abolition. The Red Cross, Salvation Army, YMCA, YWCA and Alcoholics Anonymous were all started by churches.
Jesus has inspired much of the world’s greatest art. SO much breathtaking music, painting, sculpture, literature, and architecture was made to the glory of God.
And those are just the visible signs of his grace. Beyond measure is the saving of hearts and souls, the power of forgiveness, of restoration, of resurrection that billions bear witness to every day.
While we have also sadly failed him in so many and sometimes spectacularly bad ways, there is no question that humanity is profoundly better off today because of the influence of Jesus Christ through his church.
That is our focus here. We are a warm, loving community that truly enjoys being together in worship, learning and fellowship. We encourage healthy families. We actively care for one another. We serve our wider community in many ways. We feed homeless children and serve all sorts of needs through our Thrift Shop and our partnerships with the Lake Wales Care Center, Idols Aside ministries and Polk Avenue Elementary.
All of this is crucially important to the health of our community, our nation and the world. There are other options. Imagine this world run by hopeless atheism. Imagine this world run by graceless legalism. Imagine this world run by feuding tyrants. We have seen all of that, we see it today. We know it’s wrong because of Jesus.
C.S. Lewis said, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” How can any responsible person?
If you hear nothing else today; if you never set foot in this church again, please hear this. The hand of God is upon you. He works through our flawed and often clumsy hands. That is the key to our gospel today. If this dishonest steward can make true decisions for his own sake, how much more should we work to serve our Lord faithfully?
He will always pursue you. You don’t have to have it all right to be here. None of us do. You may have doubts and questions. We all do. We also have Jesus. He redeems it all. Welcome home.
Let’s pray, out loud or in your mind. Doesn’t matter. God hears you.
Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me. Thank you for calling me home today.
I’m sorry for the ways I have lived and the ways I have not lived.
Please forgive me.
Thank you for dying on the cross for me.
You have found me today. Do not let me go.
Fill me with your Holy Spirit.
Please come into my life and be with me forever.
Thank you, Lord Jesus.
Welcome home.
AMEN!