Way back in 2011, I was serving as the
pastor of Parkside Lutheran Church.  One Saturday
in the fall, we had a church cleaning day and so as I was helping clean out the
nursery at Parkside Lutheran Church I came across this puzzle:

You’ll notice that the puzzle is missing a
piece.  The entire Puzzle is title
“Church” and there is a piece for “Boy”, and “Girl”, and “Bible”, “Hymnbook”,
“Minister”, and “Choir”, there even is a piece for “Organ”.  But missing is the piece labeled “Church”…
which is interesting because the entire puzzle is labeled “Church”.

As I picked up this puzzle last Saturday
and prepared to put it in the donate pile, a fellow Nursery-cleaner said to me,
“Hey! You should save that puzzle for a children’s sermon, you can show them
that the church isn’t a building, we are the church.”   What a great idea!

“For where two or three are gathered in my
name, I am there among them.” Matthew 18:20

These simple words from Jesus in Matthew
get at the very heart of our Christian calling– to gather together.  If you look back over all of Jesus’ teachings
and miracles, you’ll see a trend: Jesus is always trying to bring people back
together.  

When Jesus heals the sick, he
is not only restoring that person’s health but he’s also allowing that person to
re-enter the community that had shunned him because of his illness.  

My experience with the church and with
matters of faith have lead me to believe that community is essential for
development.  Not just social and
emotional development, but spiritual development as well.  When we gather together we learn about
others, we learn about ourselves, and if we allow it to happen: we learn about
God.      

The church shouldn’t be defining itself
with the type of building they gather in, we are the church.  Even when we can’t gather in person – we are
the church!  When relationships are
forged and deepened around the promises of the Gospel that is church.   Really, The Church doesn’t need many of
those pieces from the puzzle at all.
There’s no real need for a hymnbook, or an organ, or even a
minister.  Because Jesus promises to be
present when we gather together– regardless of where or how that happens.  

May
we learn to more fully be the church.
Amen.