10/01/2023 ~ Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time~ Proper 21 ~ Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16; Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32; Psalm 25:1-9; Philippians 2:1-13; Matthew 21:23-32 ~ VIDEO OF FULL SERVICE: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7960701/video/871520254

A Plethora of Pachyderms

“…it is God who is at work in you, enabling in you the desire both to do the will of God and to do the work of God.” — Philippians 2:12b-13.

You may have noticed the title of my comments today: A Plethora of Pachyderms— Pachyderms— elephants. To unpack that just a smidge, when we don’t talk about something it’s said, “There’s an elephant in the room.” If there are at least several elephants, I call that a plethora of pachyderms.

So, let me name one elephant, probably often mentioned in church parking lots but not often mentioned inside the walls of our meeting houses. (Slight pause.) Have you heard? The church is dying.

Well, that’s poppycock! The church is not dying. Not even close. If the so-called Dark Ages couldn’t kill the church, it is the height of egocentricity to think we can!

But let me offer an explanation and use numbers. If you told someone who worked on Madison Avenue in advertising ‘the church is dying’ and then named any church in rural Maine as a larger proof of the dying church, the response of that person who works in advertising would be… laughter.

Why? People who work in adverting know demographics. Maine, especially rural Maine, like many other rural areas, is losing population. So, when it comes to numbers, one church, any specific church, is not the issue. Indeed, church growth can often be seen in city areas and in areas called exurbs, areas just outside of suburbs.

So while this next statement is a generality, it is still broadly true: census data tells us two areas, rural areas and suburbs, are losing population. Exurbs and cities are gaining.

Further— and we don’t often pay attention to this statistic— a majority of Main Line churches are in… rural areas— a majority. So yes, there has been a decrease in the Main Line church numbers but you can readily see why just based on where the population of Main Line churches resides this is a truth.

In short, it’s mathematically inaccurate if not mathematically incompetent to separate church population from where churches are located. Indeed, on what locations do leaders tend to concentrate when they are planting churches today? Cities and exurbs. And generally Main Line churches do not put enough effort into planting churches, so that really puts them behind the eight ball.

But let’s set today aside and talk about New Testament times. Why? The New Testament can address another pachyderm, maybe a lot morem roaming around the church. This long-snouted beast also deals with demographics— New Testament demographics.

In antiquity ninety percent of the population of the Mediterranean basin lived in what we would call slavery. Less than five percent of the population was literate.

Now, Jews and Christians were both called “people of the book” in ancient times and today. Also there is some clear Scriptural evidence Jesus could both read and write.

Hence and by definition, two statements can be made. Those who were literate, that group of less than five percent, offered leadership and were deeply involved in Judaism and Christianity. Jesus was likely among those in that less five percent group.

To be clear, I am not coming close to saying anything like ‘all those in that ninety-five percent group who could not read and write were banned from belonging to the ‘people of the book.’ I am quite sure they were included as there is evidence for that also. I am inviting us to focus on the reality of the demographics of ancient times and how they worked and to think about that. The leadership is likely to have been in that five percent.

One more item rarely discussed in the church today about New Testament times is what the economic system looked like back then. Biblical scholar John Dominic Crossan says the economic system found in that era was a system of Domination.

What that means is the ten percent lived off the work and the sweat of the ninety percent. Once we label the economic system in those times as domination, I think it becomes easier to envision and comprehend a population of ninety percent enslaved and ninety-five percent illiterate.

There is another pachyderm from antiquity that needs to be addressed. Once again, it has to do with demographics.

Paul wrote letters to different locations in the Mediterranean Basin— the Church in Thessalonika, the Church in Rome, etc., etc., etc. What did these churches look like? How large were they?

It’s unlikely that any of them had more than fifty people. Why do I say that? We believe those churches met in people’s houses. Even among the elite, very few had a house large enough to hold a meeting of more than fifty. These churches were very small.

Further, scholars tell us that by the year 100 of the Common Era— 70 years after the Resurrection, 36 years after Paul died— the number of Christians in the entire Mediterranean basin was less than 10,000. Christianity was not exactly spreading like wild fire. (Slight pause.)

Walt Disney told us elephants could fly… but I’m not so sure. Well, there’s another long snouted Dumbo flying around these days: when the American Revolution happened most people were Christians.

Well, that depends on definitions. If by Christian we mean church members, it would be hard to prove most people were Christians. You see, in 1776 the percentage of the population who were members of a church, any church, was seventeen percent.

Indeed, this church, a Congregational Church, was founded in 1757. To be clear, in that era, especially in New England, you needed to be a member of a church to even be counted as a citizen. Put differently, if you were not a member, you were not counted. But more to the point, if you were not a citizen you did not count.

All that brings me back to the words from Philippians: “…it is God who is at work in you, enabling in you the desire both to do the will of God and to do the work of God.”

Based on what I’ve said, when Paul wrote these words what do you think that world look like? Would Paul and the disciples of Paul, those to whom Paul addressed those letters have been discouraged? Would they have said their church is dying? (Slight pause.)

That raises up yet another pachyderm. In our era we tend to believe this maxim: “If you build it, they will come.”

The director of a non-profit once said to me that idea may have been true once. But this, he said, is true now: you need to go out there and be there with the people. You need to be with the people you want to reach, stand at their side, talk with them about their lives.

Some of them will come back to whatever edifice you’ve built; some won’t. But it’s not about you. It’s about the place at which the people you meet are in their lives.

If they listen and come back with you, that also is about the place at which they are in their lives. If they don’t listen, that is still about the place at which they are in their lives.

This brings me to the last elephant for today. Work in the vineyard is hard. Work in the vineyard often involves little in immediate results, often involves decades of effort, sometimes more than one lifetime. This can feel very hard because often there is little reward. Which is to say we who are involved in church work need to name that. This is hard work.

Why would I say that? Paul knew that. Paul experienced it. And Paul offered this advice, advice which says we need the help of God to even (quote:) “…desire both to do the will of God and to do the work of God.” And perhaps, just perhaps, the will of God and the work of God means simply being present to people— being present to people. Amen.

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is a précis of what was said: “I sometimes say I don’t take the Bible literally; I take the Bible seriously. Biblical scholar Nicholas Thomas Wright says this: New Testament times are just like today. Back then everybody believed in God. Very few people took it seriously. Since I suspect you constantly hear me talk about relationships, perhaps at least as part of our hard work, our call, is two fold: take the Bible seriously and take all people seriously.”

BENEDICTION: Redeemer Who sustains us, visit Your people; pour out Your courage upon us, that we may hurry to make welcome all people not only in our concern for others, but by serving them generously and faithfully in Your name. And so let us remember, the grace of God is deeper than our imagination. The strength of Christ is stronger than our need. The communion of the Holy Spirit is richer than our togetherness. O Holy Triune God, guide and sustain us today and in all our tomorrows. Amen.