Where Two or Three Are Gathered [Sermon]
When I was in the Chicago area, I studied improv. I was also a part of a group called the Mikes of Chicago. We were a group of volunteers who put on a midnight show called âThe Improv Open Mike.â
Volunteers were called Mikes. New volunteers were called Mikies. A core group of four who guided the group were called Michaels.
The Michaels didnât really have power over the Mikes and Mikies. Itâs really had to have power over volunteers who can just leave at any time without consequence.
But the Michaels had responsibility to care for the group as a whole. They were servant-leaders. There was not real benefit to being a Michael. Just some more work.
Letâs go to God in prayer.
God of wisdom, may the words that I speak, and the ways they are received by each of our hearts and minds, help us to continue to grow into the people, and the church, that you have dreamed us to be.
Amen.
Two of them.
Our reading from Luke this morning says âtwo of them were going to a village called Emmaus.â
Scripture doesnât tell us which two at first. Peter was probably not one of them, because earlier in the same chapter Peter hears the testimony of the women who had been to the tomb and runs to the tomb himself, sees it is empty, and goes home.
And then there is the beginning of todayâs reading
âOn the same day two of them.â
Luke 24:13a, NRSVue
But later it says
âThen one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him,â
Luke 24:18a, NRSVue
So one of them was named Cleopas. Thatâs not one of the Twelve. In fact, later we read
That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem, and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together
Luke 24:33, NRSVue
So Jesus appeared to Cleopas and another disciple, but they were not part of the inner circle of twelve.
There are traditions where the spiritual leadership is seen as above the rest of the people. There is a hierarchy.
And while our denominations, the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), do have people whose responsibility is to serve larger or smaller portions of the denomination, we donât really have a hierarchy.
The local church calls its pastor, as you called me nearly eight years ago. And while Iâm not in a position to care for the association, region, conference, or denomination, I am called to serve this community of faith.
Part of that call is to represent the church at meetings of the conference, region, and association, which is why I will be traveling to Concord on Wednesday for meetings Thursday through Saturday.
Itâs also why I wonât be preaching next Sunday.
But you do not come to this church because of me. This is not the United Church of Cindi. If it were, I would be out of here so fastâŠ
You come because of the community itself, because in this community you find Jesus.
The UCC side of this church had communion every month, as is common in UCC churches. I knew one church that had it twice a month.
But the Disciples side of this church had communion every week, as is the custom in Disciples churches. For the disciples, as for some other denominations, communion is the center of worship. They find Jesus in the breaking of the bread.
So when our churches â the First Christian Church of Eureka and the First Congregational Church of Eureka â came together, the united church had communion every week.
Iâm very much in favor of this.
As someone is turned away from a church, one of the first things denied to a member is communion. People may be denied communion because they were not current with their pledges, or because they were accused of some sin like being gay. And gradually, they are pushed out of the church, but it often begins with being denied communion.
At this church, as with many churches, we have an open table. That means we donât turn people away from communion.
So that means someone who was driven out of a community of faith, who was denied communion, can take communion here on the first Sunday they come, no questions asked. And it doesnât matter if their first Sunday is the first Sunday of the month, or the third, or the fifth.
And while the United Church of Christ requires that an ordained minister preside at the table, or at least bless the elements, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) allows trained lay people to celebrate communion.
Because it is not the celebrant who brings Jesus to the table. It is the gathering of even two or three.
Even if the two are Cleopas and his traveling companion, who were not part of the Twelve.
We are a church that gathers on Sunday mornings. Thatâs not unusual. Most churches do that.
We are a church that comes together on Wednesdays for Church around the Table or for a movie night or for a discussion of a book like âSeparation of Church and Hate.â
Many churches do something like that.
We are a church whose choir sometimes comes together to perform at larger gatherings.
Some churches do that.
We are a church that comes together for marches.
Some churches do that.
We are a church that comes together for protests.
Some churches do that.
We are a church that comes together to feed hungry people and provide clothing to those in need.
Some churches do that.
And every time we come together to do these things, we are a portion of the body of Christ, doing the work of Jesus in the world, and Jesus is with us in these moments.
Sometimes there are just a few people: maybe only two or three. And thatâs okay. Because where two or three are gathered, Jesus is with us.
At the Improv Open Mike, the Michaels would have had a tough time running the show by themselves. If all four of them were there, they could probably do it. But what made it the Improv Open Mike was the combined work of the Michaels, the Mikes, the Mikies, and all of the people who came to see and be part of the show.
The show wasnât created by the Michaels. It was created by the whole community.
Church isnât created by the pastor or by the Conference Minister or General Minister. Church is created by people coming together, to be with each other, to find Christ in their midsts.
So my challenge this week is to find opportunities to be with at least one or two other people, to find community, and to find Christ in the sharing of the work or the breaking of the bread.
Jesus is here now, where two or three are gathered.
Amen.
Letâs sing NCH 321 Break Now the Bread of Life
* Scripture quotations marked NRSVue are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. https://www.friendshippress.org/pages/about-the-nrsvue
* Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James version of the Bible.
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Cindy
sophia
Author Carlo Carrasco
Intentional Faith
