Choosing the Church 4.13.2023

    Leading up to Easter we were thinking about what the Gospels teach about Jesus. I preached through Mark which meant focusing on His life, ministry, and message. This was punctuated by focusing on His death burial and resurrection. These facts comprise the bedrock of our faith. One way or another these facts need to be proclaimed from every pulpit of every Church. In preaching from the Gospels, we meet and get to know the disciples whom Jesus called. There are times we are struck by how dumb, blind, slow-witted, and ill-equipped they seem. Other times they say or do something which reflects their growing (if still immature) faith. 

    I like to use the term embryonic Church to describe the Apostles, who themselves were a subset of a much larger group of disciples. I like this term because it acknowledges that the “Gospel” will not truly be good news until Jesus has risen from the grave. Yet it also recognizes that the seeds of the Church were sown in the ministry of Jesus amongst His closest associates. Though 3,000 may have been baptized into Christ on Pentecost that birthday of the Church was a beginning to a new phase of Life in Christ which built upon the ongoing foundation of the Apostolic band. To put it another way, Acts does not begin with the events of Acts 2, but with the events of Acts. 1. Before the three thousand on Pentecost there were at least 120 faithful followers looking to The Twelve for leadership. Yes, I know there were technically only eleven at the outset of Acts 1. It is also clear that The Twelve symbolized more than just a group of intimate associates. They were the heart of the new Israel. They were the first leaders. They were the first witnesses. And in Acts 1 they undertook their first decision, bringing the actual number into alignment with the symbolic, resonating number “12”. 

    One of our tasks as preacher-theologian-pastors is to not only choose the Church ourselves but to recommend that choice to others. It is not always easy. The church, like the original twelve, can behave somewhat churlish at times. Though Peter stands out for his impetuous nature, it is entirely possible that the others were just as hasty, and deferred to Peter because he was in some way, already acknowledged as a leader. Similarly, the Son’s O’Thunder were not likely the only ones who were willing to call down the wrath of God on those who did not receive the message of Jesus. 

    In other words, they were human. And yet, Jesus chose them. Chosen to become witnesses. Chosen to become leaders. Chosen to become shepherds. Chosen to become the ever-expanding Church. The Embryonic Church was not unlike the contemporary Church. How so? People—those pesky human beings! The names may have changed to protect the innocent (or the guilty, who can say), but “folks is folks”—and that’s all the Church is. Sinners called by Christ, saved by grace, included in the flock, deployed for ongoing ministry. It’s that simple, and yes, that complex.

    By preaching about the Church, by having a positive and affirming attitude towards the body we are choosing the Church and recommending that choice to others. Some will resist because they’ve been hurt, minimized, or ostracized by misguided individuals within the body. I’ve felt human hardness where I expected Christ-like kindness, and it makes it difficult to reconcile the imbalance. All that we can do is depend on Jesus and choose His Church. Every. Single. Time. Not the individuals that hurt us, but the body which bears those hurtful scars sharing space with the nails, the thorns, the lance. 

    It is not easy. How do you think Jesus felt when He looked Peter in the eye after the resurrection. After all the boasting, all the puffing, all the bluster, Peter ran at the accusations of what we would call a “waitress”. Yet Jesus chose him. He chose him before and chose him after. He chose Peter the champion and Peter the chump. He chooses you and chooses me despite the many flaws He chooses us to be His Church, His Body, His Vine, His Temple, His Flock, His Bride. 

    To physically embrace this Christ, we must grab ahold of His people. To choose this Christ, apart from His Church is impossible. Without His Church, Jesus is disembodied. With His Church, He is as present and as real as a fresh Easter morning. He never gave up on Peter and never gave up on you. He chose us all when we were “yet sinners” and heaven is filled with joy when we choose His church.