“The Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints”

Twelfth Sermon on the Apostles’ Creed

Ordinary Time VI; February 12, 2006

Acts 2:37-42

This text comes at the conclusion of Peter’s sermon on Pentecost, and it lends itself to three sets of reflections on the subject of the Holy Catholic Church and the communion of saints: the calling, the sign and the devotion. The text will guide us in all three.

We have a misconception in American Church life, which is that the Church is a “voluntary organization.” That is, we talk about people volunteering for the Church, or choosing to become part of the Church. That’s partly in answer to the European heritage of state-sponsored churches, and to that extent it’s right. We belong to the particular church we choose to, not the one the government tells us to. Fundamentally, though, none of us is part of the Church because we choose to be; we are part of it because God has called us to be. Peter’s line frequently shows up in our baptism services: “The promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.”

Now, we generally use this line to underscore the appropriateness of baptizing babies: if God calls our children, then who are we to deny them? It has wider application, though, and is making some important points. One point: the promise of God is for all who are near and all who are remote in time. I remember my Pastor talking often of the “communion of saints,” by which he meant the sense that when the Church is together, there are more present than just the ones you can see. There are children and grandchildren not even thought of, and parents and grandparents long gone.

This building has not been in existence long enough for the pews to be crowded with the dead, but perhaps you can in your imagination see some people still in their favorite pew, now that they are gone. The Church is not limited to those who happen to be alive at a particular moment, but is a treasured heritage that we have received from our ancestors and that we preserve for our children. We may be the vanguard right now, but we did not invent Christianity and it will not die with us.

The promise is also for those who are near and those who are remote in space. It is not just for the people of Jerusalem, or just for the people of Clarinda, Iowa. We are part of a mystical fellowship that crosses national borders, ethnic heritage and racial memory. If there is any group in the world that ought to be working for international peace, it is the Church of Jesus Christ. Too often, though, we Christians have lent our voices to nationalist biases and causes that have waged war even against other Christians. Our evolution has tended to foster tribalism, and the Holy Spirit struggles to overcome such tribalism in us. Peter puts it plainly: the promise is for all, those who are near and those who are far away.

One of the best images I’ve ever heard for the communion of saints is that of a balcony. A friend of mine talked about it in a eulogy. He said that he thinks of himself as a child playing on the lawn, with the adults sitting on the balcony watching him. The communion of saints is, for him, that host of people who sit on the balcony keeping an eye on him while he goes about his life. If you want, you can use the image from The Epistle to the Hebrews of the “great cloud of witnesses” that surrounds us, but I like the image of the balcony. When you come to worship, who else is sitting in these pews, but no longer visible? When you go to work, or to school, or to play, who is sitting on your balcony?

They have entrusted to us the promise, and that is the core of Peter’s statement. The promise of forgiveness of sins, the promise of the Holy Spirit, is for you and for your children, for all who are near and all who are far away. It struck me that the promise is what makes us who we are: the Church of Jesus Christ. We are tied together here and with other Christians not because of an organization, or doctrine, or by our mission – although all those things are important – but we are tied together by the promise of God.

“We are tied together by the promise of God.” One implication of that statement is to stop the guessing-game; you know, “Who’s in, who’s out?” If you read John Calvin’s work – as I love to do – you’ll see that he doesn’t waste much effort on speculating on who is in and who is out, but that his attention is to try to get Christians to focus on our own spiritual discipline and leave the sorting to God. I’ve never understood the preoccupation of some people with trying to decide who is in and who is out; what business is it of theirs? And by the same token, if someone tells you that you are out, because you go to the wrong church, or vote the wrong way, or have the wrong opinions about the Bible, there’s not much point wasting energy getting offended: just realize people who say such things are claiming to know something they can’t possibly know.

When the President of the Southern Baptist Convention, for example, said that God doesn’t hear the prayers of the Jews, there wouldn’t have been much point in Jewish people getting offended. Better simply to realize that he was an idiot. When a child from a Foursquare Church said to an Episcopal friend of mine that he went to the Devil’s Church, he simply felt sad that the little girl was being raised to believe lies.

Though we cannot play the “who’s in, who’s out?” game, we are given a sign of initiation that we must be careful with: the sign of repentance and baptism. It is our job as a Church to be careful about the sign, to offer it to all who trust in Christ for their salvation, together with their children, but not to let it become a mere ritualistic part of life in society. Well, it has been that, but most churches are moving away from the attitude of “We need to get Johnny ‘done’” in order to focus on the life of faith of mothers and fathers, and the faith of those wishing to be baptized as adults. When Protestantism was the unofficial established religion in this country, churches were a routine part of people’s lives at birth, marriage and death. That is, we were a “hatch, match and dispatch” service. We’re trying harder to be more true to our heritage, as a people living from the promise of God, who repent and are baptized into Jesus Christ.

Repentance is not a one-time thing, although Baptism is. Martin Luther pointed out that our Baptism should prompt us to repent daily. Remember you are baptized, and every day, repent and turn to God.

Now, I realize this has been a fairly dense sermon. I have talked about several things under one topic and have explored none of them to anyone’s satisfaction, least of all my own. You notice, for example, that I have not talked about the meaning of “repent.” These concluding thoughts should be more straightforward. The text finishes with a description of what the new disciples did after they repented and were baptized. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

There you have the four elements of what marks a community of Christ, and what I envision for churches in this country in this millennium. But first, notice the word “devoted.” These first Christians did not simply join an organization and try to carve out some time for it; they were devoted. They attached themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. The focus of their lives was this devotion; it was not merely one activity among many. Oh, I hope they did not give up everything else in their lives. What’s the line from A River Runs Through It? “He was a Presbyterian and a fly fisherman.” It’s characteristic of Presbyterians that we are “Presbyterians and…” That’s not only healthy for the community but also healthy for the individual.

But what does this devotion look like? They clearly listened eagerly to the Apostles teach, and also spent time together in mutual support. They gathered at the Lord’s Table, and also met together for prayer. Here’s the vision this gives me for the Church.

I see a people that shares the study of the Scriptures together. Whether using a good resource or simply opening their Bibles and asking one another challenging questions, I see Christians meeting in small groups to study the Word of God.

I see a people that gathers frequently for mutual support. Laughing together, crying together, taking food to a family in trouble, I see Christians enjoying one another’s company and giving each other a hand.

I see a people that communes frequently at the Lord’s Table. The tradition for centuries had been for weekly communion; by the Middle Ages Christians received only once a year. Martin Luther and John Calvin both made it clear that they thought the people should share in the Lord’s Table at least once a week. Unfortunately, they were laboring in a time in which the Catholic Church allowed its people communion only once a year, and so the urging of once a week was too radical for them. In our millennium, I see Christians gladly receiving the bread of life and the cup of salvation frequently from the hand of God.

I see a people that meets frequently for prayer. Remember when Bart Brenner said to us that the days of reserving Wednesday for Church are over? Of course, in Clarinda they are not over. But we don’t really reserve Wednesdays for Church; we reserve it for Church activities and meetings. Shouldn’t Wednesday evening be for the prayer service? Or we could have it Sunday evening, although that was traditionally the time for the teaching service. Or perhaps we could have daily prayer, before work or after work, here in the sanctuary. When I lived in Cincinnati, I was near neighborhoods with lots of Jewish people, and I noticed them gathering in the morning before work for prayer meeting. Why don’t Christians do that anymore?

Frankly, Christian churches in this country and in this millennium don’t need more programs. We’re too driven by consumer culture as it is. If we’re going to be who we are – people who rely on the promise of God – then we need to be devoted to the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

I suspect that such devotion would open us to the Holy Spirit’s leading in ways we may never imagine.

Let us pray. Thank you for the communion of saints, for their gathering around us and the heritage they have left for us. Make us equal to their trust, as we devote ourselves to the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Robert A. Keefer

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Clarinda, Iowa