(Homily for Gayton Road Christian Church's Worship on May 5, 2019, Easter III)
Of Canoes and Paddles
My initiation into the youth
group at Second Baptist Church was a trip to “the Rivah.” It was the summer before I entered
sixth grade. The day is memorable
for many reasons. For one, I was not
under the supervision of my parents, and so when offered sunscreen by one of
the chaperones, I nonchalantly declined. And paid a horrible price. I also remember the little canoes that we could paddle in
the cove. A few of my friends and
I jumped into one. At first I
paddled it by myself, and it was rather slow going. But when my friends joined me, the canoe practically took
off. It was a big difference.
Everyone Had a Paddle
When the earliest followers of
Christ gathered together in community, they did not have a church building. They did not have paid staff or
professional pastors. They did not
have programs purposefully designed to raise their profile in the public eye.
What they had was much simpler:
each other. In our passage today,
which paints the first portrait of the early church, we see a community who
gather regularly around tables to break bread and to pray; who come together in
small groups to share and to study; and who distribute all that they have among
the needful. Perhaps it’s no
wonder that these are the three things they do, for these are the three places
where Jesus promises we will always find him: around tables where bread is
broken in remembrance of him; in groups as small as two or three who gather in
his name; and among the least of these.
There’s one word that’s repeated
more than any other in this portrait of the early church. It’s a word that captures quite well
the Spirit of that community. It’s
the word “all.” [1]
In other words, there were no
passengers in the early church.
Everyone had a paddle.
I’m Not Thinking of Sunday
I confess that I regularly
confuse the church for a building or a Sunday worship service. When I hear about a new church, I ask,
“Where is it located? What’s its
Sunday worship like?”
Today’s scripture sets me
straight. There’s no mention of a
building or a service. There’s
only people—breaking bread, sharing and studying together, and touching the
need of the world.
This confusion about church—is it
a building and a Sunday service, or is it something else?—helps to explain the
two different answers I give when people ask me how Gayton Road Christian
Church is doing. There’s the easy
response and then there’s the honest response. The easy response is that Gayton Road is like many other
churches in the western world. It’s
growing smaller, some would say “dying.”
But the honest response is that
the church that calls itself Gayton Road Christian Church has nothing to do
with this building or the membership roll or the words recited and rituals rehearsed
on Sunday morning.
The church has to do with broken
bread that makes us whole. And as
much as I find that here in this building, I also find it across the street
with our memory care friends, where the brokenness is very real and the
wholeness that much more precious.
The church has to do with two or three or more hearts who have caught a
glimpse of God and together seek more.
And as much as I find that here on a Sunday morning, I also find it in
hole-in-the-wall diners where God haunts conversations fueled by scripture and
coffee. The church has to do with
befriending the needful. And as
much as these offerings plates might promise to do that, I find that
flesh-and-blood encounters with the sick or the hurting bring me even closer to
the wounded Christ.
So when people ask me how Gayton
Road Christian Church is doing, and I give the honest response, I say, “We’re
doing great.” But when I say that,
I’m not thinking of Sunday. I’m thinking of Lu conspiring with
Rhonda Sneed and seeking help for the homeless. I’m thinking of Carl and Marion and Jeff and others whose
hunger is for more than tacos. I’m
thinking of Ivan sharing his careful scrapbooking of transgender concerns, and
Dolores sharing her ceramic painting of the three wise men at Christmas, and
Carol tirelessly changing our worship décor, and Amanda and Anna crafting a
summer’s week of love and learning for our children, and Cinda and Teresa
tending to our kitchen and our tables, making sure they’re covered with food
and alive with fellowship. I could
go on and on and talk about every single one of you. Because everyone here carries a paddle—and that is the church.
Wonders and Signs
Our scripture tells us that in
that earliest community of Christ-followers, “awe came upon everyone, because
many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles” (2:43). “Wonders and signs”—what a great way to
talk about what church really is.
Not a building, not a service, but the wonderful and significant ways
that we encounter Christ at tables, in small groups, and among the needful.
At Gayton Road, our ministry is
organized according to these three sites of encounter with the risen
Christ. And like the early church,
we are a community where all are a part of the body. Everyone has a paddle. Today an elder from each team will share with you one of the
“wonders and signs” that is transpiring in their team. Perhaps in the months to come you’ll be
inspired to pick up a different paddle, or to paddle in a new way. If you have any interest in the
activities of any of the teams, the elders will be in the narthex after church and
would be happy to share more with you.
Prayer
Spirit of God,
Who dwells not only in this
building,
Who reigns not only in this hour
of the week:
Inspire us
Each according to our gifts,
Each according to the needs
around us.
Equip us with the paddle you
would choose
And empower us together to be the
body of Christ
In our communities.
Amen.
[1] This
statistic excludes the definite article, pronouns, prepositions, and the
conjunction “and.”
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