"… where two or three are gathered in my name,
I am there among them."
Matthew 18:20


Introduction

Presence.

Presence makes all the difference. The presence of Christ in our midst makes the difference between us being a club with people of religious interests, and being the "body of Christ".

Such a presence can be exciting, like the presence of the lover in a romantic moment. It can be comfortable, and indeed comforting, like the child needing the assuring presence of the parent.

But presence can also be uncomfortable, like the presence of a nagging child when you want to read the Sunday paper.

There was a time when Job, the friend of God, hated the presence of God in his life. He complained to God:

But, you see, that is an impossible possibility. God majors in seeking those who want to hide. We may ignore God's presence or intentionally avoid it. But we can't make it undone. The great possibility is, to become aware of it.

I would therefore like to point your attention to a presence, a presence that can be comfortable and that can be uncomfortable, but a presence without which we cannot live and survive as a church.

It is a presence that comforts those who are uncomfortable, and disturbs those who have become too comfortable.

It is the presence of Christ. "Emanuel" - "God is with us" (Matthew 1:23) Christ has been named. And with the beginning of the church, the risen Christ promised to his friends: "… I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20)

Anniversary time is the time for stock taking, for remembering, for thanksgiving and, at the same time, for getting ready for the journey ahead.

The text for our meditation today comes from the context of a church that needed guidance. A church that needed a new vision, sought the presence of Jesus Christ to deal with questions and problems. The attention of that church was pointed to the promise of Christ's presence in their midst.

The risen Christ promises to the community of faith:

The presence that makes all the difference is the presence of Christ.

Power to continue the journey: it gives the inspiration and the power to continue the journey of faith.

The Baptist pastor and civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr. had come to a crisis point in his life. His participation in a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama had intensified the opposition. He was arrested for a minor speeding offence. He and his family were threatened by anonymous phone calls. That night he could not sleep. He went to the kitchen and made himself a cup of coffee. Then, from the deep, he prayed aloud for guidance and strength. Here is his testimony:

That is one thing that the presence of Christ brings: Power and inspiration to continue the journey.

Non-violence - a new way of being. But there is more to it. The presence of Christ also invites us to a new way of being. A new life-style.

It is a lifestyle of generosity where the secret is heard and lived that it is better to give than to receive. Indeed, "… the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). That is the way of Christ. Where his presence is perceived people become generous with their lives and their thoughts and their money.

Generosity implies a commitment to non-violence. Martin Luther King, Jr heard that invitation in a violent and racist world. He had learned it form Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and from Mahatma Ghandi. And he discovered that it actually works. He learned to distinguish between the weakness of power and the power of weakness.

We had a demonstration of it in our own time. For many of us, the most significant historical event has been the fall of the iron curtain, the demolishing of the wall and wire fence that divided Germany into two, and the opening of the Brandenburg Gate in 1989. One aspect of that event was the revolution of candles or the velvet revolution as it was called in the Czech Republic. Many people had prayed for a change of history. They wanted to be free and determine their own lives. They wanted to worship God according the pleas of their conscience. They lit candles on the altar, and then walked into the streets - every Monday night, trusting in the power of non-violence. They were filled with fear and trembling in face of an overwhelming police and security force. Every Monday – but without violence. And as we know, the walls came tumbling down.

The presence of Christ provides the power and inspiration for the journey ahead and at the same time it invites us to a new life style, a life style of open arms, marked by generosity and non-violence.

That is promised to the community of faith.

Now, the community of faith itself, the church, is described in a strange but interesting way: "… where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them."

Not one. Not a thousand. Two or three. Gathered in the name of Christ. That's all. No more, no less.

What is so special about the Christian church?

Intentional and voluntary Community. Friendship is not only a spice in life. It is necessary for our survival. The friends of Jesus share in each others' lives – in good times and in bad times.

Our spiritual forebears, the so-called Anabaptists during the 16^th century Reformation discovered the importance of community in hard times. They agreed with the Reformers – like Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli and Jean Calvin – that you don't need the institution "church" with its clergy and sacraments to meaningfully relate to God. The church is not the gatekeeper to God's grace.

Every individual, so the Reformation emphasis, can turn from self to God and find new life through faith in Jesus Christ.

But in reaction against the church's institutionalism, the emphasis on the individuals' right of access to God, led to an individualism which is just as unhealthy to the celebration of life. Life and faith can only be celebrated together.

The Anabaptists discovered the power of intentional community. "Two or three". They were small groups. But together and gathered – even when it was in a cave behind a waterfall, hiding from the police – they discovered the value of friendship as the way Christ enriched them and strengthened them.

We need to continue to find our way beyond institutionalism on the one hand, and individualism on the other. That has been part of the Baptist journey from its beginnings. And today all churches realise that unless we empower the laity and unless we build communities of friendship we shall miss God's call for the present time.

In the community of the friends of Jesus we draw strength from each other. We heard the beautiful words from the Hebrew tradition:

Two are better than one, …
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? ….
A threefold cord is not quickly broken.
(Eccl 4:9-12)

My friends, if we succeed in building a community where people believe in Christ and trust each other, then we have the soil where flowers of ministry in an increasingly depersonalised age can grow.

Such a community must be a community of equals. The Reformers coined the phrase of the "priesthood of all believers". We may prefer to speak of a church "from below". Whatever the words are, the fact is that God has gifted us, and that implies two things:

• For us, for each one of us, it means that we bring our gifts to the altar and become an intentional part of the community of faith. Withholding our gifts means withdrawing from the Lordship of Christ.
• And for the church it means that whatever functions we may develop we must be suspicious of hierarchy, because hierarchy by its very nature disempowers people below.

Equality and each person accepting some responsibility is the life blood of the church of the future.

Do you remember the story about when the gospel first came to Europe (Acts 16)? Paul and his friends crossed the Bosporus and came to the city of Phillippi. On the Sabbath they went down to the river to a place of prayer – and whom did they meet there? A group of women. They shared their faith with them, and one of them, Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, she was already a believer – but she felt called to ministry! What was Paul to do? He knew and he had proclaimed that in Christ there was neither "male nor female". But he lived in a patriarchal world. A Jewish Synagogue could only be constituted by 10 Jewish males.

But the Christian church becomes event when two or three, males and females, females or males gather in the name of Christ. Lydia became one of the many women who led a house church in early Christianity.

Presence is important. Community is important.

But only when the presence is named can we talk about church.

The promise of Christ's presence is given to those who meet in his name. That makes community a serious business.

The reputation of German Christianity in the 20^th century was rescued somewhat,

• not by the two state churches who looked after their own interests and did not have the theological resources to meet the challenges of the day;
• not by the pious Baptists, Methodists and Brethren, who conveniently withdrew from the market places of life;
• not by the grand tradition of theological scholarship, who was ill prepared to unmask idolatry and name the Crucified One as Lord;
• but by a small group of theologians, pastors and lay people who discerned the signs of the times and in light of the ideology of National socialism confessed and proclaimed that there is only one word that we need to hear, trust and obey, in life and in death, and that word is "Jesus Christ" (Barmen Declaration).

What does God think about the church's witness in Australia today? What will the book of life, whose author is the Crucified One, record about our thoughts and deeds today?

When we speak out against the ideology of fear that politicians try to use to their advantage; when we raise our voice for those who have no voice – be they children or asylum seekers or old and sick people – we are only trying to give words and deeds to the presence of Christ in our midst.

To name the name of Christ calls for a discernible committed community of faith that out of a free and voluntary commitment to Christ is not afraid to unmask those things around us that do not echo God's compassion and justice.

And then, my friends, we can relax. We can hear the wonderful assurance: When you, the two and three, gather, not to study the laws of religion, but in the name of Jesus Christ, then he promises to be in their the midst.

The early Christians used to pray: "Come Lord Jesus, come." That is our hope. Are we willing to pray: "Come, Lord Jesus"! Not only: come and take us out of this world, or come and bring an end to this world.

No! Come in the power of the Spirit and make us, each one of us and all of us together, whom you want us to be!

Thorwald Lorenzen 15 February 2004