September 6, 2020
“Where Two or Three are Gathered”
Ezekiel 33:10-11
Romans 13:8-14
Matthew 18:15-20
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
Certainly, in these days of social distancing and adapting to life during a pandemic, these words of Jesus can take on a new and expanded meaning. What if we are no longer able to gather as we normally would?
The Sunday morning Seekers Bible study class for ten years has been gathering before worship at DCC every week – but during these past months, like many groups, we now meet on Zoom.
Is it ideal? No. But Zoom has offered us a way to stay connected as a group, and we have even gained some new members over the summer.
Two significant things have happened with the Seekers group in recent weeks. The first is, we have worked together to come up with a written covenant, describing who we are as a group. I’m going to share that covenant with you in a few minutes because a lot of heartfelt discussion went into it.
The other significant thing that has taken place in Seekers in recent weeks is that we have begun a new study of 1 Corinthians.
The study was written by two United Church of Christ ministers and I had actually purchased the study for the group back before the pandemic began – but as often seems to happen, the study has turned out to be particularly significant for the times we are currently facing as a nation and as a church.
In particular, this past week our reading from 1 Corinthians had to do with the question, “Who and what is the church?”
After more than an hour of discussing that question, the Seekers agreed that while a church building serves many vital purposes – not only as a place to gather for fellowship and worship, but for the community service it provides as a place for Red Cross blood drives, and AA and the Food Pantry, to name just a few – the church, however, really is not the building. The church is the people.
One of the members of Seekers summed it up eloquently when he said, in so many words, that these past months during the pandemic is proof that the church is the people, not the building. We have continued to be there for one another in the ways that matter the most, despite the fact that we have been unable to physically gather in the building.
Where two or three are gathered in Christ’s name – even if it’s on Zoom, Christ is there among us.
A ministry colleague recently made a statement – during a Zoom workshop – that really spoke to me. In talking specifically about adapting to the pandemic she said, “We are building the airplane while we are flying it.”
I think that’s brilliant. Whether it’s the new protocols that the medical profession have had to put in place, the ways schools have had to adapt in major ways, changes in how restaurants do business – I could go on and on – but my point is, the same can be said for the church.
We have had to “build the airplane while we’re flying it.” For instance, I never dreamed I would one day be delivering my sermon via videotape – no one likes to see themselves on video – but here I am.
In our Gospel passage for today, Jesus is specifically giving instructions for how to deal with divisions and issues within the church body, but his overall message is one of living together in harmony, respecting the value of each member, and reconciling differences with love and compassion. And in doing so, Jesus promises to be there with us.
Allow me to share the Seekers group covenant that I referred to earlier. Our covenant says:
As participants in the Seekers Bible study group at Dublin Community Church, United Church of Christ, we covenant with God and with one another for the greater good of the group.
We seek the ways in which God is still speaking to us through Holy Scripture. We acknowledge that we use a variety of Bible translations, as well as other writings in our study. We welcome a diversity of interpretations and ideas, and seek to be challenged and grow in our understanding and faith.
We embrace the United Church of Christ stance that, “Whoever you are and wherever you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.”
We listen patiently to one another. If we disagree with another’s viewpoint, we do so calmly and respectfully.
And we pledge that our group will remain a safe place where we can trust each other to share our thoughts and feelings in confidence, knowing that each one of us is valued and respected by the rest of the group.
Jesus promises us that where two or three are gathered in his name, he is there with us.
Even if that gathering happens to be on Zoom.
AMEN