The Place of the Spirit

The heart of the church is the Holy Spirit which is why I declare "The church is a spiritual community centered on Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit."  The second chapter of Acts makes it clear that it was the Holy Spirit who energized and gave life to those men and women gathered in Jerusalem transforming their fear filled and uncertain community into a spiritual power that not only touched the whole world but has continued to do so some 2000 years later.  The church is not a static community or institution though it often seems to be headed that way; instead, it is the incarnate presence of Christ in the world.    

The Spirit is the heart of that spiritual community.  The Spirit birthed the church and it has sustained it through the centuries.  Even as our body depends on a beating heart so does the church depend on the heart which gives it life and sustains it.  The church cannot function without the Holy Spirit.  Certainly, there have been times in its history when it has seemed that the work of the Spirit was forgotten by those who gave leadership to the church.  

The church may have great leaders, but none can provide the spiritual energy the spiritual community of the church needs to be the church it was created to be.  Anyone who has witnessed the Holy Spirit bursting through the structures of the institutional church knows that it is the Spirit and the Spirit alone which is needed for the life of the community we call the church.  Without that holy empowerment the church is no church at all.  It is instead a gathering of people who are only making a difference in their own minds. 

Fleshing out the Definition

A personal definition of the church is:  "The church is a spiritual community centered on Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit."  We are a part of many communities.  Young families find community on ball fields where their children chase soccer balls, run with footballs, and hit balls with sticks.  There are other communities associated with membership in civic clubs and the nine to five work world.  Some are related to family and there are even some which come about as a result of church involvement.  

What is unfortunately true is that some churches do not really meet the criteria of this personal definition.  For some members of churches the business connections or the social status is the reason for being present.  It has nothing to do with seeking a spiritual community centered on Jesus.  It is also true that today's contemporary church is often more focused on politics, gender issues, and social activism.  In such places Jesus is not the center, but someone who lives out on the fringe.  

Strangely enough there are some gatherings known as churches where the name of Jesus is not really mentioned with any regularity and when He is mentioned, it is as One who stands alongside leaders of other religious communities.  Any gathering which calls itself a church and is not centered on Jesus is little more than a pretend Christian community.  It may do many thing in service to individuals and the community, but those thing not done in the name of Jesus do not make it a spiritual community centered on Jesus, or a church.

A Definition

An old definition of the church came back to me in these recent days.  It is not one I found in a book on church growth, nor does it have the polish of a theological statement.  It was one I wrote during the days when giving leadership to the church was mine to do.  For some reason it came back to me a day or so ago.  It is simple rather than profound.  "The church is a spiritual community centered on Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit."  It served me well back then and, as I recall, it found its way to the front of the church bulletin.   

It is important to remember that the church is a spiritual community.  Obviously, it is not a building, but more importantly the definition declares that the church is not what it has become in many places.  In many places the church has lost its sense of being a spiritual community and has, instead, become a religious institution which gives lip service to service while institutional maintenance and survival is its main business.  

Like the Kingdom of God the church as a spiritual community is both here and not yet here.  It is visible and yet also lives in an invisible realm still to be seen fully.  The word "community" has always seemed to be an appropriate way to speak of the body of Christ in the world.  The place of belonging which we seek is best experienced in this spiritual community which is described in the New Testament word "koinonia."  We may be members of many communities, but none can provide for the needs of our soul as does the spiritual community in which we experience a oneness with God.

The Wrestling Match

When reading the parables of Jesus in the book of Matthew, I had no intention of getting hung up on the Parable of the Wedding Banquet (Matthew 22:1-14), but I did.  Actually, I have been wresting with it all week.  This Kingdom of Heaven parable seems easy enough to figure out.  The King plans a wedding banquet for His son, but those who had a heads up on the invitation decided not to come so in their absence he invites the whoevers from the streets.  The chosen had no interest in coming, are judged as unworthy, and the least of the streets were invited.    

The wrestling match came in the final verses of the parable with a single uninvited guest showing up midst the celebration.  The King notices him because he is not wearing a wedding robe which had apparently been given to all the invited guests.  As I wrestled with his presence in the parable I kept asking "Who is he?  Why did he come?  Why did he make no attempt to hide his uninvited presence?"  None of my questions resulted in answers.  Finally, after several days of struggling with his presence in the parable, I came to a conclusion.  

It may not be the scholar's conclusion.  It may not even be the right one, but it is mine and so I will claim it.  The guy who shows up in verse 11 is a man who sings, "I did it my way." He is the man who sees himself as the exception. He is the one who does as he pleases with no regard for the consequences.  It sounds like a description of a person who has no regard for the ways of God which is what we all are expressing when we choose disobedience over obedience, sin over righteousness.  I started seeing myself as I saw him.  And I started thanking God for grace instead of separation from Him.  

Without Expectations

At first I thought maybe I had heard something that was not being said so I listened more intently to the one in the pulpit.  "Every grace comes with an expectation."  The theme of the sermon was spoken too many times to be ignored which, of course, was the intent of the one preaching.  I kept listening not really believing what I was hearing and then as the sermon reached its conclusion, he said, "God invests in us and He has expectations."  

My problem comes because of a definition of grace.  My statement about grace would be, "Grace comes with no expectations."  I have come to be who I am believing that God's grace requires nothing from us.  It does not require a certain moral lifestyle.  It does not require a disciplined spiritual life.  It does not require any act of service.  It does require expectations.  Grace comes with no strings.  No expectations.  It is freely and unconditionally given.  What I do, or do not do, or what I promise to do has no bearing on the grace of God.  

Grace is not about one gift being given with the expectation that one will be given in return.  It is true that the cross where Jesus died speaks of a gift of love from our Father God, but it also speaks about the grace in His heart which He gives to us.  Jesus' death upon the cross requires nothing from us to be a means of salvation.  Through our faith, that salvation may be experienced, but should we choose not to respond in faith, it would not change what God has done for us.  Because of His love and grace, a way has been made for us to be at one with Him again.  The choosing may be up to us, but the giving has always been His to do. 

The Practice of Exclusion

This past Sunday I worshipped at a Roman Catholic Church.  While I could never be a card carrying member of the Catholic Church, there are things about it which I wish could be found in my own denomination.  The church is not afraid of the Scripture which is to say readings are offered from the Psalms, both New Testaments, and the Epistles.  Any Methodist preacher who read that much Scripture in worship would be run out of town on a rail!  I also like the reverent attention given to the Holy Sacrament.  It is not a hurried addendum to worship, but the central part of it.  

What would forever keep me away from Catholicism is the practice of exclusion at the Table.  Of course, this practice of exclusion is not just a Catholic thing.  Other churches require denominational membership, or confirmation, or membership in the particular church the Communion is being offered.  While there are many things which trouble me about the church which ordained me, I am grateful for its practice of the open Table.  Anyone who shows up is welcome.  I have offered the Sacrament to the dying who claimed no church membership and to the young children whom folks said could not understand.  My only comment is that neither can I.   

The Table does not belong to a church, or to a pastor or priest, or to a set of requirements allowing for some and excluding others.  It belongs to Jesus.  Men and women may officiate at the Table but it is the Table of the Lord.  Long ago Jesus sat at a Table with His disciples, broke the bread, handed them the cup, and said "Do this in remembrance of Me."  Judas Iscariot was there waiting to be served.  If Jesus would serve the one who was to betray Him, how can anyone be turned aside?

Unfolding Seasons

Back in 2013, Ann Voskamp wrote a book entitled "1000 Gifts."  It was one of those books which really impacted my life.  One of the specific things which I did after reading her book was to start a Gratitude Journal.  The lasting lesson I learned from her journey through her personal darkness was that we can still live with gratitude.  As Paul wrote, it is possible to live thankful in all circumstances.  When I saw her next book, "The Broken Way," I immediately purchased it only to find that I could not even stay with it long enough to finish the first chapter.   

Books are interesting creatures for more than one reason.  Not only do they give us information, or entertain us, but they also have a knack for appealing to us at different times in our life.  Last week I pulled "The Broken Way" from the shelves and found it a book I had to read.  I wondered about the difference in then and now.  Why was it so easy to lay down unread years ago only to be something I have to read in the now moment of my life?  The book has not changed, but I have.  We are all constantly changing.  The ancient writer of Ecclesiastes said, "There is a season for everything under the sun..." and, of course, he was right.  

As those who trust in Christ, we believe that the Holy Spirit is constantly shaping us so that we are more closely resembling the heart of Christ.  Another factor of change are the years and the experiences that are a part of our lives.  As we embrace the changes and the Change Agent, we move into different seasons of our life where things of the past no longer fit and also where things dismissed in the past have a way of finding a place in the new season which is unfolding before us.