Sermon for September 10th, 2023
Readings:
Ezekiel 33:7-11
Psalm 119:33-40
Romans 13:8-14
Matthew 18:15-20
Jesus says in the gospel this morning that “if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” Now, if you think that that means that you can hold hands with the person sitting next to you and agree to win the lottery, then I have bad news for you. It doesn’t work exactly that way. I don’t think that’s what Jesus meant. If any of y’all do win the lottery after praying together, you can rest assured that I will be showing up at your house with a tray of cookies and a pledge card. All things come of thee o Lord indeed. It would be great if all of our problems could be dealt with so easily: just say a prayer and blam…done. But we all know it doesn’t work that way. So why does Jesus say this?
Well, here’s why I think he’s saying it: Jesus wants us to pray together. Yes, there are times when it is appropriate for us to go into our closets and pray, as Jesus says. There is nothing wrong with praying right by yourself on the couch, in the bed, in the car, wherever. We are all called to have a rich prayer life with God and that naturally involves private prayer. But we are not called, as Christians, to worship by ourselves all the time. In fact, it is just the opposite. Time and time again the scriptures point out to us the importance of the assembled congregation, of communal worship. And I think that is what Jesus is getting at this morning. Don’t just pray alone. Find someone else that you can pray with. Gather with other believers and pray together, because there is power in the church. Jesus Christ is present when Christians gather together to pray. I’m going to say that again: Jesus Christ is present when Christians gather together to pray. Wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them. Yes, we believe that Jesus is present when we receive communion, but Jesus is also present when you say a prayer with someone else.
I don’t think that Jesus is trying to give his disciples some secret formula to getting their wishes granted; he’s trying to teach them the importance of the gathered community. Yes, he wants them to put their ultimate faith in him, but he also wants them to lean on and support each other too. Just because two of God’s children ask for something doesn’t mean that God is just going to give it to them if they don’t need it or shouldn’t have it. That doesn’t mean he isn’t listening and it doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. We have a lot of parents here and I imagine that many of you have probably said something along the lines of “oh I would do anything for my kids.” But of course you don’t mean that literally, because if your kids asked you for something that you knew would be harmful for them (in some way or another) you probably wouldn’t give it to them, not even if two of your kids agreed. If we would expect the average decent loving parent to want what is best for their child or their children, then why would we expect anything less of the almighty God? Just because God doesn’t give us exactly what we want all the time, it doesn’t mean he’s not listening, because when Christians are gathered together, God is there.
Prayer works. God may not be some kind of cosmic vending machine, and your prayers may not be answered the way you want, but prayer always works. There is a connection between heaven and earth when we pray together. And I have witnessed prayers being answered, sometimes almost instantly. I have experienced miraculous healings. And sadly, I have also been present when people prayed for a cure, and didn’t get one. In both of those circumstances, I think God was present. Jesus was there when two or three were gathered together. Is it painful to not have a prayer answered the way you want? Yes. Sometimes it can be devastating. It is especially in those times when your faith in God may be a little shakey, that you need someone else’s faith to help hold you up and hold you together. That is why we need to pray together. That is why we need church. We need church. We need each other.
Yesterday afternoon our choir gave a marvelous performance on our front steps for about half an hour. I was so glad that so many of y’all were present to listen and show your support, but I was even more glad to see that there were a number of faces in the crowd that I had never seen before. And there were also people there that maybe I had met, but weren’t worshippers here. It was a great way to take just a little bit of our faith outside these walls, and we didn’t have to go very far to do it. There are so many people that walk past our doors that have no connection to God in their lives at all. But we know that Jesus is here, in the midst of us. In the sacraments, yes, but also in our daily lives and in our relationships with one another. Jesus is here. I know that the world needs Jesus and I know that Jesus is here, alive in this community, and that is what keeps me going, and I would venture to say that it is what keeps most of you going as well. Church may be messy, it may be expensive, it may be stressful, it may be a pain, and sometimes it might even be a little boring, but we need it. We need each other. We need to worship together.
That is the crucial thing that Jesus is trying to drive into his disciples today, the importance of coming together; gathering together, eating together, laughing together, crying together, and yes, even arguing together. Yeah, soon or later you learn that Christians are still sinners, and we aren’t always nice and don’t always get along. This wasn’t news to Jesus; it shouldn’t be news to you.
The first part of the gospel this morning is Jesus’s instructions to his disciples on how to work out their differences. Jesus says that if someone refuses to listen to you personally, and then refuses to listen to two or three others, and then refuses to listen to the entire community, then let them be as a gentile and a tax collector. That may sound a bit harsh, until you remember who is writing this gospel. A man called Matthew, one of the Apostles, who just happened to be a former tax collector. Despite being on the margins of his faith community for a long time, he found a way back in. Jesus invited him back in. And Matthew accepted that offer. In the end, I guess he realized that he needed church too.
Inwardly Digest 