April 17, 2005 “An Individual Christian is an Oxymoron” Rev. S.J. Munshower

Acts 2:42-47 and John 10:1-10

For the past twenty-five years my family and I have lived in a suburb, Glastonbury. Before that, my husband, Bruce, and I spent a couple years in a garden apartment. He grew up in a small town of neatly planned streets and avenues. I grew up in a village where everyone went to the post office for their mail. What a big deal it was…..when I was finally old enough to know the box combination and pick the mail all by myself! Such independence was to be cherished. But so was the warm feeling of community in that little post office where everybody knew your name. Independence and community…..two conflicting terms….individual and Christian….also, perhaps, conflicting terms. An Individual Christian is an Oxymoron. Please pray with me………..

Today is known as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” That is why I suggested you read Psalm 23 during the prelude. This is the third year in a row that I have had the opportunity to preach at this point in the church year. And, no, this is not a recycled sermon. The other two Sundays I was in Berks County, PA, the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country. One of the churches was out in the middle of what seemed like nowhere, out in the middle of farm fields. In fact, that is common for UCC churches there, as common as for New England churches to be on the town greens.

What was not common was fro a woman pastor from Connecticut to be talking about sheep to a people who actually knew sheep. The other thing that was unusual was that one of those Sundays was designated “Connected in Christ” by the conference there. So, I had been asked “to occupy the pulpit” of another church while their pastor came to the one where I had been serving.

Now, pulpit exchange would be an easier way to say all that, but we were told not to say that because pulpits don’t move, people do. So, in addition to the pastors, a few members of each church also went along to share in the community connectedness. All were part of a plan to remind ever the remotest congregation that they are a part of the larger flock in that part of God’s country.

It was a good exchange, one that I hope to see here in Connecticut sometime. And, it was a plan with its roots in the Bible….in the images of sheep and shepherds and in the picture of the community we see in the second chapter of Acts. Maybe you noticed that the reading began just where we left off last week.

Listen to Eugene Peterson’s rendering of this passage in his book, The Message. “That day about three thousand took Peter at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers. Everyone around was in awe…all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met.

They followed a daily discipline of worship in the temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Everyday the number grew as God added those who were saved.”

People liked what they saw! An ideal picture to be sure. One that could, probably does, frighten many people away from church. Some, not you, might say, “Forget it. I can’t do that…..devote myself to teaching and fellowship! Having meals and prayers with the same people every day? You must be kidding!”

And then there’s the hard part….about selling all your possessions and sharing the income with the church….dividing it up for the good of all. Those in the group and those not in the group; those who fellowshipped and those who fell by the wayside; those who prayed and those who were prayed for; those who studied and those who set the tables; those who taught and those who took away the dirty dishes; and, those who collected and counted the money, and those who could not give anything.

It might sound and look like they were a group unto themselves but they weren’t. They were reaching out and inviting in new people all the time. They were caring for the widows and orphans.

Someone has said that the church is an institution that exists for the benefit of people who are not its members. If that is true, then you are not here for yourself. And, if you are not here for yourself, you must be here for the person next to you. Or for someone who couldn’t, or wouldn’t, come with you today? For someone in another town, or state, or country? If you are in the choir, you are here for all of us. If you are teaching Sunday School, you are here for all of us. If you are praying together in the pews, you are here for all of us.

And, that “all of us” includes people who might be visiting, too, .like the ones in Acts that Peter said came to hear, believed, and were baptized into belonging. It means you are here for your family and friends, neighbors and nation….not just because you might be praying for them but because each time you gather together you are growing in your faith, in your relationship with God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Because of that, you are growing in all your other relationships, as well…even when you may not feel like it.

So….each one of you is here for the other. That is the essence of Christianity. Jesus did not say “When one of you walks on the beach or through the woods all alone..” What Jesus said was “When two or three are gathered in my name, there I am also.”

Yesterday about forty clergy and church leaders were gathered together as the Body of Christ in Hartford. We came from different states, mostly CT and MA, and from different denominations…Lutheran, Presbyterian, and UCC. Yes, we gave up an incredibly beautiful spring day to sit in Emanuel Lutheran Church to hear about the Formula of Agreement.

That is an agreement that was reached about seven years ago among the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the Presbyterian Church of America, the Reformed Church, and the United Church of Christ.

The purpose of the workshop was to discuss the ways this allows for interims to serve any of the four denominations. Not anything you would have given up yesterday weather for, is it? I confess, I almost didn’t go. But I am really glad that I did. It was fruitful work. We all left feeling pretty good about the future of the ecumenical movement, at least among the Formula churches.

You might be wondering why I am telling you this. Well, mostly because I’m guessing that you don’t read the theological journals. Or even the UCC news every month. And, because I want you to know that the church universal is not all caught up in conflict as the media might lead us to believe. Did we spend time talking about the Episcopal Church? No! Do we feel their pain? Yes,. Did we pray for them? Yes!

In the same way, in like manner, you are here for each other in this church. Caring about each other, praying for each other, teaching each other’s children and teens, tending the grounds, cooking meals, serving suppers, giving rides, administering the properties, singing in choir, studying together and so on. Do you do these things by yourselves? No!

Whenever two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.(NRSV)

And that is church! It’s not just on Sunday morning. It never was. But that is not an invitation to skip Sunday morning. People miss you when you are not here. And you miss the people who are not here today. If we were the early Christians, we’d be inviting everyone we know to come for good news and fellowship.

Did you notice all that was going on in that early church Luke describes in Acts 2? Those first Christians were doing good deeds; telling good news; being in good fellowship; and, celebrating with good food. Sounds a little like some churches, a church, that I know…..maybe that ideal, the one people see in the book of Acts, isn’t such a far reach after all.

But maybe the sermon title is….maybe you haven’t quite made the connection….maybe you haven’t figured out what I mean by An Individual Christian is an Oxymoron. You see, what I want to remind you is that you can’t be a Christian by yourself.

I invite you to take out your Bible when you go home. Read more about those first days of Christianity. It’s about being in community and it always has been. It’s not just a personal faith journey. It’s about being in a group; sometimes a small group, like Bible study; sometimes a medium sized group like the choir; and, sometimes a large group as in worship. Of course, we respect each other’s individuality and independence, whether that is within a congregation or among denominations. But we also love our Christian community. We’re part of a flock….and when you are part of a flock, you look to the Good Shepherd to lead you. In the spirit of the Risen One, our Best Shepherd, Amen