Welcome Home: The Need for Christian Community

Isaiah 49:5-6 ⁵But now the Lord who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to turn Jacob back to him, so that Israel might be gathered to him, so that I will be honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength— ⁶the Lord said, “It is too small a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ones I have kept in Israel, so I will appoint you to be a light for the nations so that my salvation may be known to the end of the earth.”

You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household. (Ephesians 2:19). Amen.

When I was a kid, my two younger sisters and I would ride in the back of our parents’ blue conversion van. It had wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling blue carpeting. The back seats had been removed to make three benches around the back. There was a round pedestal table in the center of the benches for drinks, food and cards. There were no seat belts in the back. It was totally unsafe! But that was OK. It was the 80s!

On long rides, my sisters and I would entertain ourselves by reading books, playing cards and listening to our parents’ audio cassettes of Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers and the Oak Ridge Boys singing Elvira.

We also passed the time playing the stop-touching-me and stay-on-your-side games. Of course, that was about the time when Dad would yell, “Knock it off back there or I’ll turn this vehicle around!”

I think our family is very similar to your family. And I think our families are very similar to our church family.

In our church family, we often act like brothers and sisters squeezed together in a vehicle on a long trip. We bicker and fight with each other. We complain about the most insignificant of things. We insist on our way and pout when we don’t get it. We are offended when someone says something wrong to us or about us. We are even more offended when someone doesn’t say something we think they should have said to us. We have our feelings hurt.

We don’t talk to each other. We avoid each other. We may stop worshiping together or stop worshiping altogether.

Thankfully our heavenly Father doesn’t look at us and yell, “Knock it off back there or I’ll turn this whole thing around! If you don’t stop it, I’ll separate all of you!”

Instead, our heavenly Father gives us a promise to bring us closer together.

Jesus is the Servant of the Lord in Isaiah’s prophecy in chapter 49. Here we find the Servant of the Lord fully equipped and competent to bring spiritual deliverance for God’s people. “But now the Lord who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to turn Jacob back to him, so that Israel might be gathered to him, so that I will be honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength— the Lord said, ‘It is too small a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ones I have kept in Israel, so I will appoint you to be a light for the nations so that my salvation may be known to the end of the earth.’”

It was too small a thing for Jesus to just be the Savior of the Jews. It was too small a thing for Jesus just to be the Redeemer of one area of the globe. It was too small a thing for Jesus to shine his light upon one nation. It was too small a thing for Jesus to proclaim salvation to one skin color or language.

Jesus is the Savior of all people – Jews and Gentiles.

He is the Redeemer who paid the price of redemption with his humiliation, blood, wounds, suffering and death. He bought back every nation, tribe, people and language.

He shines his light upon those who are learning to crawl and those in wheelchairs; those who are learning to speak to those who speak a variety of languages; those whose lives are darkened by addiction and depression, by brokenness and loneliness.

He preaches salvation to every corner of the globe.

Jesus saved us from our sin.

He saved us for a Christian community.

He brought salvation to the ends of the earth. Then he brought people from the ends of the earth to Racine and into our church.

Jesus wants to bring us all together and put our lives and families together. All of us know people who have broken lives but refuse to turn to the only One who can put them back together again.

I don’t have to tell you how many ways people’s lives fall apart. Sometimes the devil hassles and attacks you from the outside. Sometimes you have an amazing capacity to sabotage your own lives.

God knows this. And that’s one of the reasons why he invented the church – so we would all have a spiritual family. A Christian community that we need and that needs us.

You and I know people who think, “I don’t need anybody. I don’t need to go to church. I don’t need any of this Bible stuff. I can handle my own life by myself.” The bad news is that Satan knows all this, too. He knows how to go after the lone and solitary ones. Just as wolf packs prey on solitary sheep. It’s when you’re by yourself – apart from God, his Word and his family – that your start believing the lies of the Evil One.

That’s why you need to get involved in the lives of those within our Christian community at Epiphany. You need them. They need you.

Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto.

As we get older, siblings drift away from each other. Elderly parents and grown children don’t see each other very often. We allow our busy schedules to separate us from those we love.

Then, when the family all gets together at Thanksgiving or Christmas we realize, “Hey, we like these people! We should get together more often!” It’s like a family reunion at a funeral and we promise to see each other again before the next funeral.

It’s the same way in the church. Too many of our Christian family at Epiphany have drifted away because of busy schedules or hurt feelings or a myriad of other excuses. We have over 400 souls in our congregation. This church should be packed every single morning. But over half of the people regularly have excuses for being absent from the church.

The reason we are doing a Welcome Home series in worship is so we all remember our responsibility in reaching out to our Christian brothers and sisters. If you know someone who has drifted away from their Epiphany family, reach out to them. Invite them back. Text them. Call them. Message them. *Gasp!* Speak to them in person. Tell them how much we miss them. Remind them that we need them. And they need us.

While I was visiting our shut-ins this week, I asked them what they missed most about not being able to come to church. They said they miss praying together, singing together and communing together. They miss having communion every Sunday instead of once a month. They miss serving other people.

Not one of them said they miss the pastor. Although, a few did say, “I listen to your sermon every Sunday on the computer, so I don’t need to miss you, Pastor.”

But every one of them. Every single one of them said they miss their friends. They miss seeing their Epiphany family.

Our homebound members get it. They desire to come and be part of the church … but can’t. We need to instill that same desire in those who can come to church … but don’t. 

That’s why our elders and council members are being trained to reach out to those who have drifted away. That’s why all of you are receiving extra letters and emails from me and phone calls from your mentors and elders. That’s why I’m asking all of you to come for our four-week Welcome Home Bible study starting in February. We need this Christian community that Jesus has bled and died and risen for and brought together into the Church.

That’s why we will end this Welcome Home series with a big Welcome Home Sunday on February 23. On that Sunday, we want 100% attendance. Some of our shut-in members are already making plans on how to get here on that day. Hopefully you’ll have that same desire to be here.

We want people to dress appropriately for worship. Not necessarily a suit and tie or a fancy dress. But wearing their white robe of Christ’s righteousness that he gave them at their baptism.

We want them to hear the voices in church. Not necessarily an eloquent sermon from the pulpit, but here the voice of their Good Shepherd calling them to return to his flock.

We want them to realize what they are missing. They are missing their Counselor who came to repair their shattered lives. They are missing the Light of salvation who chases away the darkness and bring them into the warmth of his glorious light. They are missing their Bridegroom who laid down his life to save his bride and make her beautiful.

We also want them to be hungry. We Lutherans like food. Last week we enjoyed a pancake breakfast with the Lutheran Voyagers. Next week we’ll have Rosca de Reyes, Three Kings Cake, for our Mission Festival. On February 23, our Welcome Home Sunday, we plan to have Olde Madrid cater our meal. That’s how special this day will be! But we want those who have strayed to realize the sacramental meal of the Lord’s Supper they are missing every week because of their absence. This is the meal they need. We all need. It is a meal of forgiveness, new life and salvation.

It was too small a thing for Jesus just to be the Savior of one people or nation. He is the Savior of diverse people and all nations. He brings all of us diverse people into one Christian community within the Christian Church.

May God help us all to realize that this Christian community – this spiritual home – is something we all badly need.

Welcome home! Amen.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all the saints. (Revelation 22:21). Amen.