at the First Congregational Church of Stoughton

United Church of Christ

Hello, all you saints!

Do you feel funny being called a saint? OK, how about this.

Hello, all you sinners!

Is that better?

It’s funny, but we have an easier time accepting the fact that we are sinners than the fact that we are also saints. We tend to think of saints as perfect people who live on a higher plane, untouched by human weakness, free from anger and doubt, never cracking or slipping. And then there are the rest of us, flawed and fully human, period. But a saint is not a perfect person; rather, a saint is a forgiven sinner, someone who knows the brokenness of the world and who turns to Christ for comfort and hope, someone who is open to God’s grace.

Among the many ways God’s grace is made known to us is through what Martin Luther called “the mutual conversation and consolation of the saints.” Christianity is, first and last, a communal religion; you can’t be a Christian by yourself. God works through God’s people to make God’s love, support, hope and promises known to us. Through each other, we come to know God better.

That is as true now as it was for Jesus’ first disciples. They weren’t perfect; they were just ordinary people, like you and me, but they followed Jesus’ commandment to love one another as he loved them. And through their love for each other, they were able to know Jesus better and, in turn, know God better.

If I asked each one of you why you come to church, and particularly why you come to this church, I am sure that many of would say it has something to do with the relationships you experience as part of this congregation; that you experience this church as a warm and friendly place, a place where people care for one another. A big part of church is the sense of community we find here; we come here to be with God, but just as importantly we come here to be with one another.

Here within this family of faith, we are not just 100 individuals who gather in the same place at the same hour on Sunday morning. We are a covenantal community. Each of us is here because God has invited us to enter into a sacred relationship with each other, and we have said “yes” to God’s invitation to listen to and to pray for one another, to suffer and rejoice with one another, and to love one another with the love of Christ. That’s called being the church.

Out there, our culture is filled with shallow relationships which are based on convenience and happenstance. But in here, within this community of faith, it’s different. In here, relationships are about much more than just being in the same place at the same time. Within this covenantal community, we have pledged ourselves to one another before God; and we are called by Christ to love one another as he loves us.

And loving each other in the kind of way Christ loves us is so much more than being nice to each other. Christian loving is about being intentionally engaged with one another in a way that offers care and support and nurture and encouragement. It’s about praying for one another and praying with one another; it’s about sharing life’s joy and sorrows.

In the words of our epistle lesson from Hebrews this morning, “…let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together… but encouraging one another…” Christian loving means commitment and spurring one another on, provoking one another, to grow in our relationship with God.

If we are to become more than people who show up on Sunday mornings and maybe come to a meeting or two during the month, if we are to become more than just members of this church and begin to get serious about our faith, then we will need to move beyond the superficial social friendships we have here and begin to develop spiritual friendships – relationships based not only on love, but also on accountability, support, commitment, encouragement, and spiritual growth.

But these kinds of relationships don’t just happen in a congregation. It takes intentionality and work to form and sustain spiritual relationships, and that is why it is considered a mark of discipleship, a Christian practice – it takes work, it takes doing over and over again, it takes practice, to get comfortable with it and good at it.

Each and every one of us needs relationships with spiritual friends who will pray for and with us, who will reveal their own struggles with faith and with life; who will share insights into scripture, and reflect with us on the ways God is present and active in their lives. There are many opportunities within this church for cultivating those kinds of relationships, including our small groups and bible studies.

And if none of the groups we currently have going spark your interest, then I extend to each of you the invitation to begin one, whether it’s based on studying the bible or another book, or on a shared interest or hobby, or on a shared mission outreach endeavor. If you are interested in starting a small group, please let me know. We want every one of you to have the opportunity to build meaningful relationships, to grow spiritually, and to belong to something that can change your life. We want the First Congregational Church of Stoughton to be a place where people are connected and growing together and no one stands alone.

There’s an old African story called “One Stick – Two Stick.” In the story, an old man is dying. He calls his people to his side and gives each of them a short, sturdy stick and tells them, “Break the stick.” With some effort each of them snaps their stick in half. “That’s how it is when a soul is alone without anyone,” the old man says. “They can be easily broken.” Then he gives each of them another stick and says, “This is how I would like you to live after I pass. Put your sticks together in bundles of twos and threes. Now break those bundles in half.” They try, but no one can break the sticks when they are in bundles. The old man smiles and says, “We are strong when we stand with another soul. When we are with another we cannot be broken.”

Jesus promises that, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I will be, in the midst of them.” May each of us find strength supporting each other, in praying for each other, in caring for each other, and being cared for by each other. That is the church. That is the communion of the saints. And that is how we will come to know God better. Amen.

¹Adapted from Karen Burton Mains, Preface, Sing Joyfully, Tabernacle Publishing Company, December 1989..