On one of our trips to the United Kingdom, our temporary "home base" was Capel Uchaf Farm, near Carmarthen, in the southern part of Wales. This bed and breakfast began its life as a wayside inn for travelers making pilgrimages to St. David’s Monastery on the western coast. Over the years, the house had been expanded into a comfortable farmhouse. We ate dinner one evening in the "new" dining room, which was added in the 18^th century.

        On a couple of occasions I fell into conversation with the owner, Mrs. Freddie Burns. She told me that a regular visitor was a twenty-something-year-old friend of her daughter’s. This young woman is in a high-stress and fast-paced job in London. Once or twice a year, this young woman would come to spend a few quiet days at the farm. Freddie said, "I think now and then that she just needs to be ‘looked after.’"

        That situation seems to speak to the subject for today. This is the second of a series of sermons on the "Great Ends of the Church." The first Great End is the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of all humankind. The second is the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God.

        We live our lives in a hectic, trying, high-stress world. There are times that we do ourselves a favor if we just take a break to be "looked after." The church, when it IS the church, provides just such an occasion and a place¾ the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God. To understand this second concept of the nature of the church, we need to look at those words¾ shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship.

SHELTER

        The Apostle Paul gives some insight into the nature of the church in Ephesians, Chapter 4. He urges: lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called…and then: We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. (4:1,14)

        Many different forces that confront our lives are vying to shape us into an image. In our society, the electronic media may well be the most potent single source. Advertising seeks to make us consumers who long passionately for things we do not need. Our image of who we are is often shaped by what we own. Mark Twain’s century-old lament is still pertinent: "We have dethroned God and put a shekel in his place." Entertainment, which advertisers pay for, seeks to convince us that our best hours are spent in diversion. That entertainment often portrays life in the seamiest way that the censors will allow. We are taught that might makes right and that the end justifies any means.

        In the midst of it all, we hang onto the notion that we live in a "Christian" nation or society. If we believe that, we also have the misguided notion that we may gain godly virtue by osmosis because we live in a society that is permeated by it. We need to face the fact that there is relatively little in our society that will teach or lead us to fulfill noble aspiration.

        I have not heretofore commented on the controversies surrounding the current President of United States. Most of us have heard far more about it that we care to¾ or that’s what we say. Let me make it clear that I deplore the low standard of sexual morality exhibited by Bill Clinton. I am as disappointed in his lack of fidelity to his marriage vows as I would be in anyone else’s. I am disturbed by the trivial use that has been made of as august a place as the oval office. I am dismayed at his lack of sensible judgment.

        But I have to also say that I am no more impressed by his accusers and would-be judges. Can anyone be naïve enough to believe that this whole thing began in a concern for public morality? And if we were to insist on the use of our Lord’s standard as our political leaders sit in judgment¾ let the one without sin cast first stone (or, in this case, vote)¾ then I doubt if you could raise a quorum for committee meeting, much less a majority in congress. It is no high-minded morality that eagerly releases every salacious detail of this business for dissemination in everything from tabloid (so-called) newspapers, to television, to the Internet. Sensationalism titillates, so it also sells. A poll taken on the eve of the release of the material revealed, if the statistical sample was reliable, that only a little over one-fourth of the populace think it appropriate to release all the details, but almost half say they will watch. I suspect more than that will actually watch.

        I make those introductory statements to say that I agree with an article that was written by a New York minister. In the article he asserts that you cannot elect a moral leader. God knows I wish we could. But we rarely have elected one, at least in the sense we mean by that term today. Those who have probed history at all know that we didn’t get such a leader in Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, Kennedy, Johnson, etc. If investigative reporting and independent counsels had been around from earliest days, then our book of heroes could be printed on a Hallmark greeting card.

        Here’s the point. You cannot look to politicians for moral leadership. You do not look for moral guidance from the giants of business. You won’t find it in movie stars, television stars, rock stars, or sports stars. You’ll only find true moral leadership in the One who is called the bright and morning star! You get it from following the One upon whom they say a celestial star shined at his birth. You learn it from the Christ who was tempted in every way as we are, yet remained without sin.

        It’s time to end this mythology of a "Christian" society or nation! Or, as Ephesians puts it, We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. And if you love your children, if you care for your friends, if you regard yourself, you’ll seek and bring others to find shelter from the pressures and perversities of this world in the place that proclaims the gospel for the salvation of humankind!

NURTURE

        The church is not only a place to go, but also a place to grow. What a beautiful symbol and reality it is when a child is baptized in the church. The whole congregation takes a vow to be a spiritual family. The congregation promises to seek to provide a place where one may grow in knowledge of nature of God and of what God requires of us. We stand in the great tradition of the Hebrews who knew that the Laws of God are not to be taken lightly. In Deuteronomy the recitation of the Law is followed by this admonition: Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and away, when you lie down and when you rise…When your children ask… "What is the meaning of the decrees and the statues and the ordinances that the Lord our God has commanded you?" then you shall say to your children…(Deuteronomy 6:6,7,20, 21a). The admonition is given to you to know the answers and nurture the children. Notice that it didn’t say to have the children look around at the examples set by leaders of the nations, business, or entertainment.

        There are many things, but three things especially that a church has which a soccer field, football field, or baseball field doesn’t have¾ a font, a table, and a pulpit. At the font we learn that we are sacred in the eyes of God and claimed as God’s children, and we are given the Holy Spirit to recognize our gifts and the strength to use them. At the table we are called together to remember the breadth and depth of the love of God and to be given the grace to be the agents of that love in this world. At the pulpit we are taught what we should know about God so can be the people of God. We are nurtured by word and sacrament in the sanctuary, but these are just the beginning and the empowering of a whole program of education, fellowship, and service, which nurtures us for the hard task of living victoriously in the world.

        One Sunday evening, an elderly woman was reflecting on a worship service she had attended. (I wish I could say that it was one I had presided over.) She said, "I guess I had what you call a ‘spiritual experience’ this morning. Something happened during communion. I don’t know what it was. All I know is, since the service was over, I just want to love everybody in sight!"

        On another occasion, I preached for a protestant communion service at an annual meeting of the American Guild of Organists, held in Dallas. The service was also the annual memorial service for those who had died the past year. In the sermon, I told one of my favorite funeral stories about being always within the love of God. A man came from the choir after the service and said, "I have been going through a bitter divorce. I can remember that story. I can use it. And, I want you to know, now I think I can make it."

        When the church is the church, it is a place of nurture and growth. It is a place where we are inspired to love. It is a place where we can find that we can "make it."

SPIRITUAL FELLOWSHIP

        There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord one faith, one God and Father of all … The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. (Ephesians 4:4-5, 11-13)

        We talk of fellowship¾ what a fellowship group did or of activities held in the fellowship hall. We’re often prone to mistake fellowship for mere socializing. When we talk about spiritual fellowship, we mean more than merely enjoying being with one another. We talk of our status as children of the same God, as followers of the same Savior, as inheritors of the same Spirit. In the church, we have together what we cannot have separately.

        I have at times begun confirmation classes by entering the first session, throwing a stack of cards into the air, and letting them land on the floor. On each card is one of the mighty acts of God that makes up the history of our faith. I tell the class that as a group they are to put those cards into chronological order. When I come back in about ten or fifteen minutes, they have often done a reasonably credible job. The rest of the session is spent reviewing the correct history of our faith. Then I ask what was the value of doing this exercise as a group. They generally recognize that some knew what others didn’t. This is, of course, what the church is all about.

        We have different individual spiritual gifts, but together we have what we need. We have different individual experiences and insights, but together we can find the truth. And we "egg each other on."

        You’ve heard the old story of the minister that went to visit a member of the congregation who had been absenting himself more and more frequently from church. The two men sat enjoying the warmth of an open fire as they talked. As twilight fell, they talked of many things. Finally the minister got around to saying that this man’s presence was missed. Of course he came forward with the usual responses¾ I have too many other things to do, I need my rest, I read my Bible and pray at home, I don’t see what more the church can give. The minister took down a pair of tongs hanging on the side of the fireplace, removed a coal from the middle of the fire, and set it on the hearth. The two watched in silence as the lone coal first burned brightly, then glowed with less heat, became covered with a gray ash, and then it went out. The man said, "I see what you mean. I’ll be back next week."

        The church is a place of shelter, of nurture, of spiritual fellowship. In the midst of the pressures, pace, and perversities of the world around, we’re like Freddie Burns’ young friend. We sometimes just need to be "looked after" for a while. Well, that happens in a place just like this!

A PRAYER