The opponents of Jesus sputter: “We are descendants of Abraham, and have never been slaves of anyone.”

They have exalted status, at least in their own minds, because of genetics, because of the family name.

“But of course!” is their attitude.

 

When I was a kid and first hearing about the Olympics I had the peculiar notion that US individuals and teams were of course going to win a large number of trophies.

Our folks are simply superior and deserve recognition, I thought.

Somewhat later it finally dawned on me that success was partly due to how much money someone is willing to throw into training and facilities for the athletes, and how one is prepared mentally as well as physically.

There is nothing automatic about getting an Olympic medal.

 

Neither is there anything automatic about becoming a Christian.

It is not genetics; it is not family name or tribe.

It does involve God's promise mediated by Word and Sacrament which we can hear gladly and to which we can respond.

Just taking up space in a pew is not enough.

 

And further, becoming a Christian is not something that we do alone; it always is in the context of a community of the faithful.

Even Simon Stylites, who spent years as a solitary monk sitting on top of a column in Syria near Alleppo was first formed as a Christian in a community, and supported by Christian brothers who kept him supplied with the necessities of life.

That would be the extreme example; how much more is it the case with the rest of us?

We simply do depend on one another .

When one of us is weak because of some physical or spiritual hardship, then the Holy Spirit will see to it that someone else has the strength to hold up that person.

That is part of the genius of Stephen Ministry, to discover the strengths with which God has blessed us and discern how to use them for the sake of a particular person in this community of faith.

 

Luther thought much about the nature of the church and how it should function within the will of the Father.

He saw that we should not be wasting time huffing and puffing about “we've never been slaves to anyone” or any such thing.

There is no time for bragging about past successes or complaining about present troubles..

We are simply to be the church and get on with our proper tasks as servants of the Lord Jesus.

 

Where is this church?

How do we distinguish it from other organizations?

Luther pointed to seven things that are present wherever the church is.

This list is on the cover of today's bulletin, and we'll name each of them in turn.

 

1.The Holy Word of God.

Wherever we hear and see the word of God's promises being preached, believed, talked about, and lived, Christian holy people must be there, whether it is a large gathering or a small number, Luther says.

And all four activities are needed.

If there is preaching but nothing happens because of it, that is not yet the church.

If persons' lives are not different than the rest of the general public, it is not yet the church.

It is a strange but true thing: the more of the faith one gives away, the more one has!

That is the power of the Word.

 

2.Holy Baptism

Wherever it is taught, believed, and acted out fully, Baptism is the way in which God's people are being made holy, that is, set apart for God's purposes.

This is not a private transaction; it is individual but not private. This action belongs to the whole body of Christ.

 

3.Holy Communion

Wherever it is rightly administered, believed, and received in the way that Christ gave it to us, there is the church.

We have it so that we  can openly confess that we belong to Christ, that we are being made holy by him, and that we can exercise our faith with hand and mouth as well as with intellect.

 

4.The Office of the Keys

Wherever sin is confessed and Christ's forgiveness is pronounced, there is the church.

This is the responsibility of the office of the keys, which refers to Jesus' declaration to Peter concerning the keys to the kingdom, that “whatever you loose on earth is loosed in heaven.”

What a precious gift of the Gospel to us.

It is a gift that we need to receive regularly, since we make a mess of things at every turn.

Without forgiveness, human community as well as community with God are impossible.

 

5.The Holy Ministry

Wherever persons are trained, selected, and called to proclaim the Word, administer baptism and communion, and to offer forgiveness on behalf of Christ, there is the church, Luther reminds us.

This does not exist in a vacuum; it takes people to announce Good News, one person to another.

And it takes some who have the responsibility of making sure what is said and done by everyone else  fits together with the faith that can be traced back to the apostles.

 

6.Prayer, Public Praise, and Thanksgiving

Wherever you see or hear the Lord's Prayer taught and prayed, and psalms or other spiritual songs sung that are congruent with the faith; and also where the creed, 10 commandments, and catechism are used in public, the church is there.

 

7.The Holy Cross.

There are great challenges in all six of the marks of the church that we have thus far listed, but it is the 7^th Mark that is perhaps the most difficult for us to know and live within it.

Where we endure persecution and all kinds of trials and evil pursuing us from Satan, the church is there. 

Where we resist as we are chased by the world and our own tendency to slide into sin...there is the church.

Where we hang onto the faith despite illness, weakness, or contempt from others, enduring all this for the sake of Christ, there is the church.

The church was there on September 23 when three Syrian Christians were forced to kneel is the sand in front of other of their already slain companions, confessed their faith, and were shot in the head by ISIS militants.

The church is there when we sit together and talk over the pain of a broken family situation.

The church is there when we deal together with the shock of a dreaded medical diagnosis and resolve to live life fully.

The church is there when kids deal with ridicule as they announce that they will not do this or that because the time for worship comes first.

Paul says to the Corinthians “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” [1 Cor.1:18]

 

So these marks of the church that we have listed are not items of personal pride, for they are all God's gifts to us.

Unlike the opponents of Jesus, we know we have nothing of our own about which we should boast, but, as Paul says, “Let the one who boasts, boast of the Lord.” [1 Cor 1:31]

With confidence that these seven marks of the church, these gifts of God, will be sufficient, we are called to constant Reformation, learning again and again where our focus should be, and what we should and could be doing in the name of Jesus.  Let all say...Amen.