May 2, 2021 Easter 5 – Church John 13:31-14:14

 You may know the little song,

“The church is not a building. 

The church is not a steeple. 

The church is not a resting place. 

The church is the people. 

I am the church. 

You are the church. 

We are the church together. 

All who follow Jesus all around the world. 

Yes, we’re the church together.   

While this hummable song is entirely accurate, I believe we all have the tendency to think of the church as: a building, a place, a worship space.  Seeing it as the people, and no more and no less, is always a challenge. 

Churches that own particularly historic or beautiful buildings have a hard time remembering that the church isn’t the building.  They easily become historical societies whose purpose is to maintain a building.

Churches can also go astray when they become social networking clubs.  Certainly one wants to have ones friends and neighbors as a part of the church, but there is a distinct difference between a church and a country club.

Many people see the church, and any religious organization, as a social service agency – or perhaps political activist organization.  While the church’s mission definitely gets into the role of social services, it is not an organization of do-gooders.  The church is not the same as the Lions Club or Kiwanis or Masons or any fraternal lodge organization.

The word “church” comes from the Greek word ekklesia – or “assembly”.  It is the assembly of believers, those who build their lives around the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.

A few weeks ago I said the Lutheran Church has never fully defined what the Bible is.  We’ve never made a statement about what books are in and what are not.  We just accept the consensus created by Christians across the world.  When it comes to defining the church, however, we have made a very clear statement.  We find it in Articles 7 and 8 of the Augsburg Confession.

You’ll remember from Reformation history that the Augsburg Confession was written by those who would become known as the Lutheran Church as a definition of what they believed.  It was written at the request of the Catholic Church.  That makes sense really.  If you want to put down a rebellion, and you want to call all the rebels heretics, it helps to have them write out their beliefs.  You then have the proof you need to go forward with your heresy charges.  Of course the Lutherans weren’t too keen on being executed so they chose the words of the Augsburg Confession with great care.  They actually hoped it would help restore church unity.

Anyway, Article 7 says, “The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.”

That’s a very clear and crisp definition – congregation of saints where the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments rightly administered.  Article 7 goes on to say that church practices don’t have to be the same everywhere.  But then they write something very interesting in Article 8, “Although the Church properly is the congregation of saints and true believers, nevertheless, since in this life many hypocrites and evil persons are mingled therewith, it is lawful to use Sacraments administered by evil men, according to the saying of Christ: The Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat, etc.  Both the Sacraments and Word are effectual by reason of the institution and commandment of Christ, notwithstanding they be administered by evil men….”

This reference to evil men is about corruption and problems with church officials.  Basically, even if the priest is a completely corrupt, horrible, and sinful person, the sacraments that priest administers are still fully valid.

But this does bring up the real issue.  The church is the gathering of saints where the Word is rightly preached and the Sacraments rightly administered, and it also includes hypocrites and evil persons.

Nowhere in the definition of the church do we say that people have to be perfect.  Right off the bat we recognize it is a mixed crowd.

The setting of our gospel reading is the Last Supper.  Jesus is giving his disciples these final instructions before his arrest.  It is always important to note that among these disciples are Judas, who will betray Jesus; and also Peter, who will repeatedly deny Jesus.  And the remaining disciples will all fail as well.

If these guys are the beginning of the church we see that calling them a “mixed crowd” is generous in the extreme.  God has not built the church on perfect people.  God has built the church on real people.

The original readers of John’s gospel would have heard the passage very differently from the way we do.  If John’s gospel was written in the 70’s or 80’s of the first century then it was a time of chaos and uncertainty.  If you lived in the Holy Land it was as if the world was coming off its axis.  The Romans had decisively destroyed Jerusalem and irradicated much of Judaism; Christianity along with it.

Families were being torn apart, especially Jewish families.  It appears as if in many families some began to follow Christ while others felt it necessary to cling to Jewish traditional faith all the more.  There was persecution from Romans and from religious officials.  Any number of people had been like Peter and denied their faith in fear for their lives.  And any number of people had been like Judas, and betrayed family members to the authorities.

The church was not a safe place.  You did not know who to trust and who not to.  Who was sincere and who was a spy?

And what about repentance and forgiveness?  Could you accept (or even believe) the apology of someone whose faith had failed, or had turned over your family members?  Could they come back into the church?

Keep that context in mind and hear Jesus’ words again, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

Realize that those words are not just nice things to say.  In the context of fear, uncertainty, denial, and betrayal, they are radical and extreme.

Notice that Jesus does not give nuances.  He does not try to give a road map to navigate the complexities of the situations that would arise.  He says simply and clearly that the hallmark of his disciples would be love. 

Commentator Gail O’Day notes in the New Interpreter’s Bible, “Jesus’ teachings on love and discipleship are unrelentingly placed in the context of his betrayal and death.  The example to which the love commandment points is the love of Jesus for his disciples, a love that will receive its fullest and final expression in his death.  Jesus’ followers, therefore, are exhorted to love one another as fully as he loves them…” 

She also notes, “It is no easy task for Christians to love one another.  In many ways, it is easier to love one’s enemies, because one might not have to deal with them every day.  Jesus promised that the community’s love for one another would be a signal to people that they were Jesus’ disciples.”  (Volume 9, Pg. 734)

The church is the people, yes.  It is good people and bad people.  It is people we like and people we don’t.  It is people who are kind and people who are mean.  Last week I took a boundary awareness class as I have to every three years.  We talked about the church being a place for people who are safe and those who are not – including violent criminals and predators; and how do you establish boundaries to make sure they can be a part but also everyone kept safe.  The church is a complex community.  It is the community where the Word is proclaimed and the Sacraments are administered.  And imperfect as it is, it is a community of love.  Love as shown by Jesus.  Love that ultimately trusts the goodness of God, knowing that because of that, love can be lavish and lasting, even in the face of problems.