When Will You Open the Church?

1 Thessalonians 2: 9-13

When are you going to open the church?

If I had a nickel for each time I have been asked this question, then I would have a whole pile of nickels. I might even have a drawer full of nickels. It is actually a very good question, but in order to answer this question we must first define what the church is. You see these buildings? They are beautiful. They are useful. But they are not the church. You are the church. Whether or not the church is open isn’t up to just me, it is up to each and everyone of you, because you are the church. So let me ask you? When are you going to open the church? 

We need to talk about being prepared not just for a spike in cases of Covid 19, but any kind of disaster that would prevent us from regularly worshipping together. The problem is that we think that in order to practice our faith we need a church building. But that’s not true. The good news is that God will still love you, forgive you, and bless you even if you cannot attend a traditional worship service. You can worship God anywhere. Today I will teach you how to organize a worship service, so you can worship God at any time anywhere. So check it out!

There are four steps to a complete worship service:

1. Gather
2. Word
3. Meal
4. Sending

I will briefly explain each one.

1. Gather

Life is chaotic. Think about the strong winds we had this past week. They were so powerful as they blew down off the mountains and ripped through the valleys out to the beaches and sea. Consider the path of destruction they left. Trees were uprooted and fell onto cars and houses. Leaves, branches, and trash scattered everywhere. Halloween decorations strewn across yards and into the street. Of course it could be worse like Hurricane or Tropical Storm Zeta. The point is that these are extreme cases of an everyday phenomenon. Life gets messy, and order is disrupted. After a strong wind you go outside and gather what has been scattered. The first step of worship is to gather with God. 

In our household the best time for us to gather everyday is dinnertime. We use the fact that we all get hungry and thirsty to our advantage. Either Sheri or I will, and mostly it is Sheri, will prepare a meal and have everyone in the household sit down together at the same time. We gather around the table. When you gather you may listen to one another. How was your day? What was good? What was difficult? That’s it! It’s simple.

Not everyone lives in a family group. Many people live alone. Gathering is about much more than the physical. Today is All Saints Sunday. We remember that our loved ones after they die are with God. They are part of the “Cloud of Witnesses,” and the great multitude form every tribe and nation as prophesied in Revelation chapter 7. So even if you are alone in your apartment, when you take time to Gather with God you gather with the saints of the past, present, and future. You are with the Great Cloud of Witnesses. Not to mention new ways we gather with telephone, letters, and increasingly video conferences. 

2. Word

Worship in the Christian tradition must involve the Word of God. Jesus is the Word of God. The simplest most accessible way to receive the Word of God is to open up your Bible and read. As a pastor I have to study the Bible everyday to prepare for the sermon and Bible Studies. So when we eat a meal as a family, I will sometimes just tell a story from the Bible that I have been studying. This is the easiest way to tell the word of God to children. Don’t worry about getting all of the details exactly right. Just do your best to tell the story. Sometimes there isn’t a good story to tell, or there might just be a really good verse to share. Read and meditate on this verse or story. Think about it. Ask question. What does it mean? Again don’t worry about having a perfect understanding. God doesn’t expect perfection. Just try your best to study and understand the Bible.  

Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 2:13 that the new church in Thessaloniki was successful because the received the Word of God not as just a word form humans, but as from God. Then the Word of God worked inside of them. Like something with a mind of its own it spreads throughout the body, mind, and soul. Think about a virus. It spreads in your body too, often doing harm. The Word of God spreads, but to give life and faith. 

3. Meal

This is the tricky one, but not really. Holy Communion is a treasured part of worship. When for six months we were not gathering together people worried a lot about not taking communion. I remember being on a zoom call with the Bishop and other pastors the week after we were in quarantine. He asked that we show leadership by fasting from Holy Communion for the time being. I remember feeling like I was going to panic. “What is worship without communion?” I thought to myself. The Bishop reminded us that for many generations Christians would only receive communion once a year. Martyrs have been imprisoned for years without communion and yet they had tremendous faith. He was right. 

Jesus said, “I am wine. I am bread. Give to all who hunger and thirst.” The whole point is that God can come to be with you in regular nourishing things like bread. So if you are quarantined, or if you are alone, please do not starve yourself. Eat bread. Drink water, or wine. As I mentioned my family makes time for God when we eat dinner. The food that God has given us is sacred, and nourishes our bodies, minds, and souls. 

No meal is complete without prayer. Food tastes better when you pray. You connect to God, you connect to one another, you commune with the saints past present and future when you pray. 

4. Sending

When our family eats dinner at the end of the mealtime there is a lull. The lull is when you begin to think about what is next. Who will do the dishes, sweep the floor, and take out the trash. Maybe you will do all of these things if you live alone. Fine. What will you do afterwards. This is when we make a plan of action. Rather than let the night or day dissolve into entropy, what are your goals. Will you take a go at that challenging book gathering dust on your nightstand, like, “Godel, Escher, Bach,” by Hoffstader. Will you play a board or card game? What are the big projects you have to tackle tomorrow. 

Paul writes in 1 Thesselonians 2:9 that when he came to Thessaloniki he was not a mooch. He didn’t roll into town expecting to be fed and housed. He earned his keep. Some say he was tailor, or a leather worker. He had practical skills and carried his weight. The Christian life is one where we are sent out to work and be productive! So worship extends into the labors that keep everything going. Worship has the power to transform our spirits into joy so that we may engage in the struggle of life with hope, dignity, and joy. 

So here we are. It is a beautiful day. Maybe we will all be together again in real life, face to face, physically gathering next Sunday. But if we aren’t. Please oh please do not ask when the church will be open. This building behind me is not the church. The church is people. The Saints are the church. Church happens when you in your home do four very simple things:

1. Gather with God
2. Receive the Word
3. Share a Meal
4. Be Sent to Serve

Do these things and the church isn’t closed. Do these things and you will have communion with God. Do these things and you will grow more closely into Saint that God is calling you to be. Amen.