Being the Church
Elaine Poproski Download: Audio
Click here to read the sermon.
Sermon Notes:
It may be helpful to read the introductory chapter of How to Revive Evangelism, by Craig Springer, alongside this sermon.
Scripture Luke 10:1 – 11
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. Read more…
Looking to Sunday
by Elaine Poproski
John 1:14 tells us that “the Word became flesh and lived among us…” Many years ago, when I was learning Greek, I enjoyed discovering that lived among us might more literally be translated as pitched his tent among us. What I like about the more literal translation is that it sounds so much earthier than lived among us. It doesn’t sound as spiritually metaphorical, like it’s better suited to poetry than history.
When I think about Jesus – the Word – living among us, I think of it in the same way I think about the Holy Spirit being present with us. It’s not generally the kind of presence we experience with our 5 senses, even if we might sometimes have a feeling of the Spirit with us. But when I think about Jesus pitching his tent among us, that seems somehow more tangible. If I imagine it in my present-day context, I imagine Jesus renting an apartment in my building; I imagine running into him on the elevator or in the laundry room; I imagine chatting with him in the lobby or at a neighbourhood event. There’s something so much more present about Jesus when I think of him this way.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us.
And the Word became a person named Jesus and pitched his tent among us – came to live with us – was fully present with us.
Have you ever had a conversation with someone who was fully present in that moment with you? They weren’t distracted by other things; they were totally focused on what you were saying, not on what they were going to say next; when they spoke to you, it was you they were speaking to – you weren’t some stand-in for any other person who’d listen.
It can be uncomfortable to be with someone who is fully present – they see and hear everything, even the things you maybe don’t want them to see and hear. But it can also be incredibly empowering and validating. To be the focus of another person’s full attention says that you’re worth something – you matter. Everything we know about Jesus indicates that he was always fully present with whoever surrounded him. Even when he hung on the cross in excruciating pain, he was so fully present that he was able to give comfort to the man hanging next to him.
We often define Jesus’ kind of love as the kind of love that is willing to sacrifice for the other, as evidenced by the cross. But I think Jesus’ love first showed itself in his commitment to being fully present with us. And I think that for us to love like Jesus loved, which is what it means to be his followers, we are also called to be fully present with the people around us – the people among whom we live. I think, for Walmer to love like Jesus loved, we not only have to be fully present with the people we live and work among individually, but also those who live and work in our church’s neighbourhood. I think that’s key to being the church.
Over the next 9 weeks we’re going to explore what it means to be the church. Specifically, we’re going to consider 7 shifts that need to happen in order for us to be faithful to the biblical vision of the local church. We will find that one of the most essential characteristics of the church is that of being fully present. Throughout this series of sermons, you’re invited to read the book, How to Revive Evangelism, by Craig Springer. If you’d like a copy of it, please let Elaine know or pick one up at the church on Sunday.
As you prepare for Sunday this week, perhaps spend some time considering what keeps you from being fully present among your neighbours and your co-workers; perhaps spend some time considering what you need in order to be more fully present in your own life as well as in your life as part of Walmer.