The Church is Called to Live

Homily, The Church is Called to Live
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 16A, 2023
Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Tequesta, FL

The Rev. Derek M Larson, TSSF

Today’s Lectionary Readings:

Exodus 1:8-2:10
Psalm 124
Romans 12:1-8
Matthew 16:13-20

*This is part one of a two part sermon series on the decline in church attendance in the U.S.

In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

It’s a conversation that’s been increasingly more common. In fact, it’s a conversation I’ve had with clergy colleagues at every conference, workshop, and classroom I’ve attended for at least the last 5 years. And sitting in a Virginia Episcopal Retreat center a couple weeks ago at a table full of pastors at a preaching workshop was no different.

“What kind of sermons do I preach,” she asked, “when my congregation has 10 years at the most before they close their doors?” Someone else sitting at the table asked another question, “Will I be able to retire as a pastor, or should I be preparing for another career?” Another at the table mourned, “I love everything about the church—the sights, the sounds, the smells—I can’t bear to watch it be left behind.”

It’s a similar concern that I hear from many laypeople, even in our own congregation. “We need more young families with children,” I hear. “If our church is mostly people in retirement, who will be sitting here in 20 years?” People are concerned about the future of the church.

And it’s no wonder why. If you’ve looked at church statistics in recent years, the findings are eye opening. A recent Guardian article reported that while in 1972 92% of Americans identified as Christians, by 2070 that number will be less than 50%.

In the Episcopal Church the numbers are perhaps more staggering. While there were 3.4 million Episcopalians in the 1960’s, today there’s less than half of that. And if we continue at that rate, by 2050, there will be no Episcopal Church. 

So is this the end? Has the Church come to the final years of its life? Are we experiencing an ecclesial apocalypse? 

Well, I find that when talking about the end, it’s helpful to think back to the beginning. And it just so happens the Church was founded on an apocalypse, as we see in our gospel passage today, though in a much truer sense of the word. For the word “apocalypse” doesn’t mean catastrophic end as we often use it today; it means “revelation.” The Church was founded on a revelation. 

“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah,” Jesus says, “For flesh and blood has not revealed (apokalupto) this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter (which means rock), and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” 

Jesus is speaking here to Peter after asking him and the other disciples a question. “Who do the people say I am?” They answered that the people believe him to be some kind of prophet who has returned. “But who do you say I am?” Jesus asked. And that’s when Peter gave voice to the revelation. “You are Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

When all the people around believed Jesus to be holy and sent from God, Peter recognized that Jesus was more than simply sent by God, he was the very presence of God among them. Peter affirmed that in Jesus, God walked among them. It was a revelation—an apocalypse—about the nature of who God was in Jesus. That God is someone intimately involved in the daily lives of humanity. That God is someone that comes alongside of them and shares in their joys and celebrations, in their pains and suffering. In Jesus, God walks with humanity. 

And it was out of this reality—out of this revelation—that the Church was called into existence. “Upon this rock—upon Peter and this revelation—I will build my church.” The Greek word for church here is ekklesia, which means “the called out.” The Church is the people who have been called out to carry the sacred revelation that in Jesus, God walks among us. 

And so these two things: the Church and the revelation of God among us are intimately tied together. They’re inseparable.

And so in my mind as we think about these statistics and the future of the Church, the question I have for us is this: Does God still walk among us? Yes, Jesus has ascended into heaven, and no, we can’t see Jesus among us in the same way that Peter did, but is Jesus still intimately involved in our lives? Does Jesus live? Is God still walking among us?

Because if Jesus still lives, the Church is called to live. If Jesus is still walking with us, than the Church is called to walk the earth. The destiny of the Church is intimately tied to the destiny of Christ. As long as Christ is in this world, the Church will—in some form—endure. 

It may change. It may find itself living in new contexts and new historical moments. It may have to be stretched and challenged to find new ways of carrying out its mission, and that’s hard. But as long as Christ is in this world, the gates of Hades will not prevail over the Church, for the Church was built on the revelation of God among us, and God is still among us.

We can see God among us here at Good Shepherd as we prepare for a new chapter in our ministry. And while we have not been untouched by the national trends, we have some incredible things happening here. In some ways the impact of Good Shepherd on our community has never been greater. We are assisting more people than ever experiencing food insecurity; our school has the largest enrollment of students in our history; our online presence is allowing people to participate who would have never been able to. Exciting things are happening! Jesus is present here. God is walking among us. The Church lives. 

We certainly have challenges ahead of us. We certainly find ourselves called to adapt and change in the face of the radical shift in culture that is happening right now, but our future is bright, and we are thriving. 

And so as we reflect on the national trends regarding the decline of the Church, we have to keep in perspective that as long as Jesus is alive and well, Jesus’ Church is called to live.

Statistics and numbers are important because they shed light on the context in which we live out our mission. But let our attention to statistics not give way to defeatism. Because as long as Jesus lives, the gates of Hades shall not prevail. As bearers of the revelation of God among us, we are called to live. We are called to live. The Church is called to live. Amen.