When The Roll Is Called - Hebrews 10:19-25
Most of us know the hymns…we
remember the words that have flowed down to us from decades gone by:
Shall
we gather at the river
where
bright angel feet have trod,
with
its crystal tide forever
flowing
by the throne of God?
Yes,
we’ll gather at the river,
the
beautiful, the beautiful river;
gather
with the saints at the river
that
flows by the throne of God.
or maybe this one
I
was standing by my window,
on
one cold and cloudy day
when
I saw that hearse come rolling
for
to carry my mother away.
Will
the circle be unbroken
by
and by, Lord, by and by?
There’s
a better home a-waiting
in
the sky, Lord, in the sky.
or maybe this one
When
the trumpet of the Lord shall sound,
and
time shall be no more,
and
the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair;
when
the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore,
and
the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.
When
the roll is called up yonder,
When
the roll is called up yonder,
When
the roll is called up yonder,
When
the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.
We love those old “traditional”
songs that sing of some day when we will all be gathered together some place
far from here in the presence of God.
The only trouble with this, my brothers and sisters, is that for most of
the Bible, I would suggest roughly 95% of our Scriptures, that is not what it
means to live as God’s people. Being a
Christian is not about sitting around in our houses longing for a day to come
where we will be gathered together in Heaven.
Through the season of Lent, we are
seeking to journey down A Disciple’s Path. We are looking at the ways, as suggested by
James Harnish, that the membership vows of the United Methodist Church, and
living them out, can actually help us more fully live as disciples of Jesus
Christ. In those vows, we are asked if we will support the church through “our
prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness.”
Last week we considered the first
of those vows, “prayer.” We asked and
considered the question, especially as it relates to the prayer that Christ
taught his disciples, and that we still pray every week, “what if prayer is not
about us changing God, but allowing God to change us?”
Today we come to the second of the
five commitments that we make and that relates to “presence.” When we took the membership vows, or as we
might be considering making those vows, we commit to being present. We are not present on some future day in
heaven, but being present with one another now.
My brothers and sisters, being together is part of God’s design from the
first days of creation (“Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man
should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.’”)[i] to
the time of the prophets (“I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob, I will
gather the survivors of Israel; I will set them together like sheep in a fold,
like a flock in its pasture; it will resound with people.”)[ii]
to the Wisdom of Solomon (“And though one might prevail against another, two
will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.”)[iii]
to Jesus (“Then Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and
authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to
proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.”)[iv] to
the birth of the Church in Acts (“So those who welcomed his message were
baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. They devoted
themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread
and the prayers…All who believed were together and had all things in common…Day
by day, as they spent much time together…And day by day the Lord added to their
number those who were being saved.”)[v] to
Paul’s writings, (“…so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and
individually we are members one of another.”)[vi]
to today’s reading (And 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.”)[vii]
These are not all the passages,
but are amongst the many verses that remind us that God calls us to live
together in community…not just some future day in heaven, but right here, right
now, in ministry together, God intends for us to come together as His people.
The truth of the matter is, we can
be good people when we are by ourselves.
We can be learners when we are by ourselves. We can be spiritual by ourselves. However, we cannot be followers of Christ,
disciples of Christ, by ourselves, we have to come together with one another,
we have to be joined with other believers, to truly follow Christ.
“But preacher, you do not
understand, I do not like those other people, they are not like me. I would just as soon stay by myself than mix
with them.”
In 2007 the movie entitled Freedom Writers was released. This movie was based on the work of a
teacher, Erin Gruwell, at Woodrow Wilson High School, in the mid-1990’s in Long
Beach, California—only 25 miles from Los Angeles where just two years earlier
race riots shook the city and the nation.
The class was made up of whites, African-Americans, Hispanics,
Cambodians, and others who were considered the “rejects” of the school. Needless to say, the racial tensions of the
area spilled over into the classroom, and as Ms. Gruwell began teaching them, the
students did not like one another one bit—yet they had to be in school and they
had to be together. However, as we saw
in the clip, one of the students, who struggled with feeling alone after he and
his mom were evicted, came to school, was reunited with his classmates, and, as
he reflected on that time, said, “I walk into the room and I feel as though all
the problems in life are not so important anymore, I am home.”
“Preacher, that was a school, they
had to be together, that really doesn’t have anything to do with what Jesus did
or what He expects from us.”
Well, actually it does. Have you ever stopped to consider the
disciples? I mean really considered who
the disciples were? The disciples were
any who followed Jesus, but then we consider the Twelve, those who were closest
to Jesus, those, who in the Gospel of John, Jesus moved from calling followers
to calling friends. Among those twelve
were James, John, Peter, and Andrew who were working class fishermen; then
there was Nathaniel who didn’t think anything of any value could come out of
Nazareth, Jesus’s hometown; there was Simon the Zealot, one who sought the
violent overthrow of the Roman Empire so that Israel could be free; there was
Matthew the Tax Collector (a profession so despised by almost every Jew,
because they were considered traitors of their own people); and of course,
Judas Iscariot. Jesus’ closest friends
and followers were as diverse as any church congregation could be…and Jesus
called them to live together and to love one another: “I give you a new
commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also
should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.”[viii]
To be gathered together is
Scriptural…we are called to be in one another’s presence…to be here with and
for one another. We could simply say
that by doing this, by being present with one another, we are obeying Christ
and that is how it makes us better disciples, but there is so much more to it
than that. How does it help us grow in
our discipleship?
Jesus told us that the two
greatest commandments are to “love the Lord Your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your mind, and that the second is like it “You
shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
We have to have a neighbor, we have to have others, to love…we practice
love by being with others. And just a
little while ago we noted Jesus’ words to those who would be His followers that
they are to “love one another.”
In the book of Acts, as the Church
came together, they first studied the apostle’s teachings…they listened and
paid attention as those who walked and talked with Christ shared with them all
that Christ had taught them. We are present
with one another for instruction in living a Christ like life. In Acts, we also read that everyone sold all
that they had and held it in common, they gave to one another as there was a
need. We are present with one another to
meet the needs of one another.
Our reading this morning also helps
us understand more of what we gain, more of how our discipleship is increased,
as we gather together, present with one another. “Let us hold fast to the confession of our
hope without wavering…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.” Hebrews reminds us again the need to provoke
one another to love and good deeds—we are called to come together to hold one
another accountable to make sure that we are following Christ in all that we
do, say, and think. We are also called
to encourage one another, to help one another through trouble times, to build
up one another, to support one another in our struggles.
Loving…learning…providing…holding
accountable…encouraging and supporting…it sounds a lot like a family…no wonder Jesus
not only considered those who sought to obey God his friends, but he also
called them family: “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my
brother and sister and mother.”[ix]
It sounds a lot like being able
“..walk into this room and…feel as though all the problems in life are not so
important anymore, [we are] home.”[x]
When the roll is called, not up
yonder, not in a class room, but here at St. Paul’s…as we walk A Disciple’s Path, will we be present,
will we come home?
In the Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit…Amen.
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