This post, by Heather Weir, is a reflection on the “Not A Solo Endeavor” sermon as part of the “I Have to Do What????” sermon series.
On Sunday, Elaine preached a sermon against the lie that you can be a solitary Christian. Her main text was John 17, which records Jesus praying for unity among his followers, including us, his followers in the 21st century.
We, followers of Jesus in the 21st century, can come up with all kinds of good reasons why we might be able to be solitary Christians. We live in an individualistic society, one that upholds individual achievement in the way we tell our history, in the way we think about ourselves and how we relate to each other, in the way we all have our own individual communication and entertainment devices. We’d like to think we don’t need each other at all – especially in our religion. “It’s just God and me.” “I worship wherever I am, I don’t need a church.” People make jokes about skipping church to sleep in on Sunday morning. They are Bedside Baptists. They go to The Church of the Holy Comforter. We resist the idea that we need other people to be faithful.
But we cannot be Christians alone.
If you are a Walmer regular who showed up on Sunday you might think “I’m ok, I show up most weeks to church.” But the kind of unity Jesus talked about in John 17 is a divine unity, the kind of eternal love unity that exists inside the triune God. No matter how much we show up on Sunday or during the week to other church events, none of us will experience that kind of divine unity until God’s Kingdom arrives in its fullness. In the meantime, it is the goal we strive for.
We cannot be Christians alone.
True confession: I find this difficult. I’m an introvert. I do better in life with regular quiet times alone. But I cannot be a Christian alone. So I work at this. I build friendships. I try to be a bit more vulnerable and open with others.
Because I cannot be a Christian alone.
The New Testament is saturated with the idea of the essential unity of Christ followers. As you read the Bible this week, look for it. In English “you” can be both plural and singular. We read “you” in the New Testament and feel our individual selves addressed – possibly because our reading of Scripture is often a solitary act. But “you” in the New Testament is often plural — more than one person is being addressed. Think about this. Look for it. Think about what the plurality of address means.
We cannot be Christians alone.