One Another: Meet Together
One Another: Meet Together by Rev. L. John Gable
October 11, 2020
This morning we are beginning a new sermon series under the heading “One Anothering”. There are 58 commands in the Bible, curiously all in the New Testament, that include the phrase “one another” or “each other”, such as forgive one another, encourage one another, accept one another, and so on, and I thought it would be beneficial for us to look at some of those with “one another”. Of course, last July when I laid this series out I had no idea we would be in the midst of a pandemic which has forced us to do just the opposite, never in our lifetimes have so many of us felt so alone and isolated, and ironically, the very first “one anothering” passage I chose to start with is the admonition to “meet with one another”, more specifically to “meet together” in worship, and you know how that has worked out. Last March 16th I called a special Session meeting to address our response to the pending threat of the Covid-19 pandemic and I vividly recall the surprised look on the faces of the elders, perhaps mirroring my own, when I suggested that we suspend “in-person” worship until the middle of May! I being the one who perhaps proudly, and certainly naively, have always boasted that we would NEVER cancel worship, and now that we are now this far into it, the middle of May seems like a cake walk, doesn’t it?
Given the situation we find ourselves in, I almost shelved this series, including this opening message on the admonition for us to meet together, but chose instead not to, because the underlying encouragement in each of these remains the same regardless of our present circumstances. Please don’t misunderstand me in this: I am not encouraging anyone to attend “in-person” worship with us who does not feel safe or confident in doing so. We have very intentionally laid out rather strict guidelines for our worship together and have offered various worship options without encouraging, much less imposing or insisting, that we expect anyone to be present here in worship. Those who are choosing to be here are doing so by their volition and are following every safeguard we have put in place. That being said, I can’t wait for the day when we will all be able to meet together again with one another whenever that may be and whatever that may look like. In the meantime, we will continue to be creative in finding ways to be together even in our separation, and grateful for the technology available to us. Thank you, Dave Streit and our media committee and the volunteers who work behind the scenes to provide us with the live streaming option and resources like RightNow Media.
Why though is meeting together so important? We innately know that it is simply by how much we miss it when we can’t do it. “Absence”, does indeed, “make the heart grow fonder”, even our absence from being together in worship. One of the most heartbreaking aspects of this pandemic has been the sense of isolation that has been imposed on so many, particularly those in hospitals and hospices and care facilities. We get some indication of why “solitary confinement” is the harshest form of punishment because we were created to be in community with one another. “There is no life that is not lived out in community”, writes T.S. Eliot. In a similar way, Henri Nouwen reflects, “It is remarkable that solitude always calls us to community. You cannot live the Christian life alone. In solitude you realize you’re part of a larger family and that you want to lift something together. Community is not an organization, not an institution, it is a way of living. You gather around you people with whom you want to learn, to live and to proclaim the truth.” And we don’t really realize the importance of that until it is taken away from us, do we?
If you were with us in worship last week, “in-person” or virtually, you may recall I cited a quote by Donald Baillie that “Christianity is essentially a community affair. The Christian religion is a relation between the individual soul and God, but it is a relation that can be realized only within that universal community which is the Church of Christ. This means that I cannot be a Christian all by myself. I cannot retire into my own shell or into my own corner and live the Christian life there. A single individual cannot be a Christian in his/her singleness. It is only in Christ that we can enjoy full community with one another, and it is only in our togetherness with one another that we can enjoy full communion with Christ.” This idea is not unique or original to Baillie, it is evidenced throughout the Scriptures. While it is true that we are called individually to respond to the call and claim of God on our lives, once we do so we are then called out of our individuality in to community, in to fellowship, with one another. A careful read of Scripture will show us that “the Bible is not necessarily concerned with the individual merely as an individual, but with the community” (Baillie) so throughout we hear references to the “people” of God, the “community” of faith, that we are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation” (I Peter 2:9). As individuals are mentioned in the Scriptures it is always in regard to their relationship with God and with the community of faith. Simply put, using the words of comedian Lilly Tomlin, “We are all in this together…by ourselves.” And conversely, “We are all in this by ourselves in community with one another.” That is, we are not intended to do this life of faith alone, but together, with one another.
The writer of Ecclesiastes gives a beautiful illustration of this when he writes, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.
For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
This is how we are to understand the life of faith: individuals acting in concert with one another. We are all in this together, and the language of Scripture itself offers a critique to anyone who thinks they can live the life of faith in isolation. In contrast to modern trends toward experiences of “spirituality” which uses “I/me/my” language, Scripture almost exclusively uses “us/we/our” language. Spirituality focuses on my needs, my experiences, me and God, me and Jesus; while a true expression of the Christian faith calls us not only into a relationship with God but also with one another, both those inside the fellowship we call the Church as well as our neighbors in need beyond it.
So we read this admonition to “meet together” in the book of Hebrews because of Who Christ is (our great high priest) and what He has done for us (He has entered in to the sanctuary, the holy of holies, the very presence of God, on our behalf) and because of this we can have the confidence of faith. The benefits then of meeting together are clear. First, in verse 23, “meeting together” helps us to “hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who has promised is faithful.” My guess is you will agree with me when I say that I find that I am far more confident in my faith and more hopeful in difficult times when I am with you than I ever am alone. I am in complete agreement with Martin Luther when he writes, “at home, in my own house, there is no warmth or vigor in me, but in the church when the multitude is gathered together, a fire is kindled in my heart and it breaks its way through.” Second, in verse 24, we read, when we meet together we can “provoke one another to love and good deeds.” Provoke is an interesting word to use here, but the point is well taken. Sometimes we all need a little poking, a little prodding, a little provoking to love and good deeds because on our own we can get a little selfish and self-centered, can’t we? Meeting together reminds us that there are those all around us who have needs, many much greater than our own. And finally, in verse 25, we read, when we meet together we can “encourage one another”. Encourage is one of my favorite words. Break it down and it means to “give courage” to another. Meeting together gives us hope, love and good works, and encouragement: all much needed in these times of separation and uncertainty.
I know the very thought of “meeting together” right now is unwise for some and a challenge for us all, but I chose not to avoid this topic today because my great fear or concern in this time of separation and isolation is not only the social and psychological strain it is putting on us, but the spiritual damage it may well do if we begin to think that we can do this life of faith alone, or that meeting together is no longer an important part of who we are or what we do as followers of Jesus. It is said that a new habit is established in 12 weeks, now that we have been isolated from one another for 7 months (this is actually week #31 if you are counting), the importance of this teaching cannot be overstated.
The story is told of two gentlemen who were sitting around a campfire one evening visiting when one of them said he had decided to stop going to church, that he felt he could practice his faith quite adequately on his own. Without saying a word, his friend got up and took one of the burning logs and set it on the ground outside the fire ring. Together they sat in silence and watched as the flames died and the log became cold. He then got up and put the log back on the fire and they watched as it burst in to flame once again. His friend turned to him and said, “Point well taken.”
Friends, even in this extraordinary time of pandemic and isolation, taking full advantage of all of the opportunities and technologies available to us, “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who has promised is faithful. Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.“ Amen.