I recently read a story about a family that left their church one Sunday, and as they got into the car, the critiques started rolling in like they were filling out a review on Yelp:
- “The sermon? It was ok…kinda long.”
- “The music was really loud.”
- “I like the band more than the organ.”
- “Those pews? They are not comfortable.”
The list of pros and cons just kept coming.
Finally, their eight-year-old piped up from the back seat and said, “Well, what do you expect for a dollar?”
It’s funny, but it also reveals something kind of true. We live in a consumer-driven, transactional world. And I think that can affect how we think about church. We sometimes think of church in the same way we think about a restaurant, or a concert, or maybe Netflix: as a product, or an event, or a service that we’re buying. But this way of thinking…it is a misunderstanding. You see, the church isn’t something we consume, it’s something we are.
Now don’t get me wrong here. I’m not anti-consumer. Not at all. I love the fact that when there is something I need, I can run downtown and pick it up (shop local!) or I can run out to Target…or if I can’t find it in town, then I can go online and order it. We are consumers. All of us…right?
And so, it’s completely understandable that sometimes we slip into the same way of thinking about church. For us, the church can become a place where we “get our spiritual stuff;” like a Target with a giant cross up on top. But the truth is, church is not something you go to, like a store, or an event, or a business. Church is something we are. All of us…we are the church, together.
That’s why today we’re thinking about what it is to “Be Trinity.” Not “Go to Trinity,” or “Shop at Trinity,” but to “Be Trinity.” This is important because the invitation that God gives us is not just to attend, but instead it’s to live as the body of Christ, joined together in love, for the sake of the world.
Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, paints a picture of what this means. He says that Christ has given us gifts: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers. Different gifts, different people, different passions, all working together to build up the body of Christ.
Like I told the kids, the body of Christ is like a puzzle. Each one of us has a unique shape and purpose. Each one fits with the next. When we honor the gifts God has given, when we let people bring their unique shape to the picture, it all comes together into something beautiful.
Being Trinity means that every piece…every gift…every person…matters.
- The Trinity Kids leader who is upstairs today helping our young people understand how much God loves them. Their gifts matter.
- The volunteer who comes in during the week to sit behind the reception desk and answer phones. Their gifts matter.
- The person who sings solos in worship…and the person who sings off-key but with full heart. Their gifts matter.
- The person who makes the coffee on Sunday mornings. Your gifts matter…a lot.
To all of you…and to all of you…your gifts matter. Each gift builds up the body of Christ.
But Paul doesn’t stop there. He says that the body grows and builds itself up “as each part does its work” but always held together by love.
That is exactly what Jesus was getting at in the Gospel from Matthew. When asked about the greatest commandment, he says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.” That’s the glue. That’s the connective tissue that holds the body of Christ together: Love. Love is what makes us more than just a collection of puzzle pieces rattling around in a box.
So, what does “Being Trinity” really mean?
In 2014, when I was in the call process and was considering becoming the senior pastor here, I was talking with Pastor Peter Strommen, who was the very wise interim pastor who preceded me. One of the questions I asked him was “how does Trinity do with the pastor’s family? In some congregations, there are unrealistic expectations of the pastor’s spouse, or children. In some churches they kind of live in a fishbowl.”
I’ll never forget what Pastor Peter said. They are the same words that someday I will tell my successor. He looked at me and smiled, and he said, “this church…Trinity…will cherish your family.”
And he was right.
Our boys are grown now, Nathan in Colorado and Sam in Minneapolis. But as I look at their lives…I look at who they have become…I am certain…100% certain…that this congregation, this community…that all of you were an important part in shaping them; in helping them become who they are today. You… confirmation leaders…youth ministry volunteers… friends…parents of friends…church staff…musicians…donut servers…and all of you who just took them in and accepted them unconditionally and with love…you helped make them who God created them to be. And for that, Lori and I will always be grateful.
But it’s not just our boys….and it’s not just because I’m a pastor here. The same is true for every young person in this congregation. When a child is baptized, God makes promises, the parents and Godparents make promises, and we as a church…we make promises. We promise to partner and accompany this child and their family…to walk alongside them…to support them. And you do that. I’ve seen it over…and over…and over…and over…
We promise to all bring our individual and unique gifts into the lives of that kid…and, to each other. And to the church. And to the world.
We all bring something different. But a church is a place where these different things combine, and God’s Holy Spirit goes to work in ways we can’t understand…stirring all these gifts together. And we shape each other, and the world around us.
That’s what it is to be church. That’s what it is to “Be Trinity.”
Lutheran theologian and pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, wrote in his book, “Life Together,” that “The Church is the Church only when it exists for others…” Only when it exists for others.
You see, Jesus does not say, “Love your friends as yourself.” He doesn’t say, “love the person sitting next to you in the pew as yourself.” He says, “love your neighbor.” Period. That means the neighbor who lives next door, the neighbor who struggles with rent, the neighbor who votes differently than you, the neighbor who sometimes drives you a little bit crazy. Jesus says, love them.
There is a story about a church that decided to be more welcoming. So they printed a big banner that said, “All Are Welcome” and they hung it on the wall in their lobby. The next day, the pastor noticed that someone had stuck a post note underneath it. On it was written: “Even me?” Even me? You know what? That’s the question the world is always asking the church. “Even me?” Does “all” really mean all? Does it mean even me?
Let me tell you. Yes, all means all:
- All means all people.
- All means all races and ethnicities and cultures.
- All means all abilities.
- All means all socio-economic levels.
- All means all stories and histories.
- All means all regardless of marital or family status.
- All means all regardless of gender identity, or sexuality.
- All means all political parties and philosophies.
- All means all types and levels of faith.
- All means all.
When we are Trinity, the answer to that little post it note is “yes.” Yes, even you. Yes, especially you. Even when you doubt it. Even when you’re not sure. Even when your fear, or anxiety, or experiences or history causes you to wonder how God could possibly love you…yes, even then.
Christ’s church is the one place…the one place where we can all be together…where everyone can belong. It is the one place where every week, we experience the love of God through a community of people. Every piece of the puzzle…every individual gift that is shared and celebrated.
Paul says that the goal of all these gifts, all this love, is that we might “grow up in every way into Christ.” I love that phrase: grow up into Christ.
To grow up in Christ means that we don’t just stay where we are. We keep learning, keep serving, keep loving. We are not perfect, but we keep moving toward the fullness of who Christ calls us to be.
A few years ago, after a particularly heavy snow, one of the people who belongs here at Trinity, a 9th grade boy, noticed that his elderly neighbor’s driveway was completely snowed in. Unprompted by his parents, this kid went out into the cold and fired up the snow blower and made his way over to the neighbors and started clearing the driveway. It was a lot of snow. Before long, another neighbor came out to help. Then another. Within an hour, the driveway was clear, and so were three other driveways on the block.
Nobody asked who belonged to which church. Nobody asked who voted for which candidate. Nobody cared. They simply loved their neighbor. That is what it looks like to be the church. That is what it looks like to Be Trinity.
Friends, the world does not need another church that just acts like a store, handing out spiritual goods to consumers. The world needs a church that lives as the body of Christ, joined together in love, serving neighbors with compassion.
The world needs us to Be Trinity.
- When people are lonely, the world needs us to be community.
- When people are hurting, the world needs us to be comfort.
- When people are hungry, the world needs us to be bread.
- When people are lost, the world needs us to be a light.
Let’s bring our gifts, whatever they may be, to the table of God’s kingdom. Let us be joined together in love that glues us into one body. Let us love God with heart, soul, and mind, and love our neighbors as ourselves.
And let us grow up into Christ, becoming more and more the people God created us to be, for the sake of our community, and for the sake of the world.
So, let us not just go to church. Let us be the church. Let us be Trinity.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
Test Driving Theology 