It's a beautiful day in the house of the Lord!
...
I'm going to invite you to reflect on that for a moment. What does it mean for
you to be a part of God's house?
Well,
first off, it means that you are welcome. You are ALWAYS welcome. If it's your
first time here, or if you've come through these doors a thousand times:
Welcome home!
We can extend that welcome because this is God's
house: and God's house is not restricted to these walls and ceiling. It’s not about bricks and mortar- as
important as those can be - because if we limit our understanding of God’s
dwelling to our understanding of construction, we’d have to admit that there’s
an end date. All buildings have end dates.
But we know better - God is eternal; the house of God
is bigger and more amazing than anything we could construct. The house of the
Lord is not a temporal, earthly thing; it is not a location but a lifestyle. It is the home for the family of God.
Our
first reading reminds us of this; as we continue to hear about Samuel and his ministry. We recall from
last week how powerful a connection Samuel has to the house of God: his mother
prayed for him, and offered him as an oblation of life-long service so that
people could know and believe in the power of God.
And… how quickly people have missed
this lesson - Samuel is now hearing the people he serves - the people he has been
called directly by God to serve - as they turn their focus further
and further from God, becoming almost fixated on things and kings. They want
one person who they perceive will make them feel happy all the time, even as
that person takes their focus further from what is holy. And though logically
they know it's not healthy, and is unsustainable, that's what they say they
want. And further in the readings, we learn that it all crumbles down.
That
house, sadly, is a house of cards: a house of deceit and self-glory and instant
gratification. It is NOT the house of the Lord. And we know - from history and reason - that no one
earthly leader can make everyone happy all the time. Politics can be fickle:
and we as societies do not always treat our politicians as God would have us
treat one another.
The
New Testament reading today pulls us back to what the house of the Lord is all
about: Paul declares that the house of the Lord is "a building from God, a
house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
That
means that the house of God is important not as a structure, but because it
means that we are in the HOUSEHOLD of God - a reality that transcends any
building or person.
If
we think about what 'household' means to us, we know that it means Family.
Beloved. Those who are related. Those who are journeying together as we
collectively seek God. Those who are committed to being family - despite time
and place and all those earthly distractions - to focus on being children of
God. To celebrate our place as heirs of the kingdom.
We
all know that family is not always easy. There are always challenges, an
abundance of opinions, a jostling for control. Living together in shared space
can be difficult. My grandpa used to tell of being the only man in a household
with four women - and only one bathroom. We all have those moments, those
anecdotes, those realities; but they do not break the bonds of family.
So
too in the household of God: there is room for everyone. There is a place and
space for everyone. Everyone is welcomed, and wanted, and celebrated. The
household of God is not a place of judgement or criticism or competition. It's
not a place for gossip or anger or hardened hearts. That's the "house
divided against itself" that Jesus speaks about in the Gospel reading.
That's the place of exclusion and negativity, a house "will not be able to
stand."
But
the unified house - the household of God, the celebration of family: that is the focus of Jesus’s teachings
today. Because Jesus is shaking things up in his home town, as he challenges
folks to think beyond their biology to consider what family means.
Just before today’s passage starts,
Jesus and his followers have left the city for a bit; and Jesus names his
apostles. Disciples: meaning followers: can be anyone. Apostles: meaning chosen
and sent: well, these are 12 distinct folks.
And they’ve just been named by Jesus
when they come back to town, and today’s Gospel passage starts. It’s rather
chaotic, and Jesus’ biological family is concerned for his safety. They know
that his teaching and healing is attracting all sorts of attention… such that
the ‘crowds’ with their mob mentality start saying he’s out of his mind.
His family all know what is likely to happen as a
result of that statement. So they want to go out to protect him; but Jesus won’t
be moved away from his teachings. Even with the intentional distraction of
speaking about demons.
So Jesus brings the conversation back to where it
belongs: not in politics, not in preferences, not in things that divide: but
intentionally, purposefully, masterfully, Jesus brings the conversation back to
family. To community.
The family of God are those who serve in the name of
God. Those who dwell in the Household of the Lord. So for Jesus to be extending
the concept of family beyond the traditional social structure of biological
connections: this was amazing. Everyone
who does the will of God is to be considered family. And welcomed as the
household of God.
That’s a
teaching for many to hear, as we celebrate that we hear it again this morning.
The House of God is the place where God
delights in our presence, where Jesus assures us of our forgiveness, where the
Spirit conveys the eternal "home" that we all seek. It is the place
where brothers and sisters in the Lord come together: always wishing the best
for one another, discovering new ways to care for one another, reaching out in
compassion and peace to do all that we can to love God and love one another.
So
it is truly a beautiful day in the House of the Lord! Because we make up the
house of the Lord. So let us look around and see one another as members of the
household of God, and hear the words of Jesus, speaking to us of inclusion and belonging, as we
hear our Saviour say "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the
will of God is my brother and sister and mother."
For we: beloved in Christ: we are the Family of God. Everyone
we meet is a sibling; everyone we see is family.
We are gathered together: through prayer and praise in
the eternal House of God, where everyone is at home. And it’s beautiful!
As I said at
the beginning: It's a beautiful day in the
house of the Lord!
So may we carry
that beauty with us wherever we go this day.
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