Christ in Us
Matthew 18:15-20
Rev. Frank Schaefer

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

Today's scripture passage is about the church. Let me start by saying that, there are so many different ideas of what church is and many if not all of them have a part of the truth to them.

To name a few:

The church is not a steeple, but many churches have a steeple

The church is not the building, but it's certainly part of the church.

The church is not even the pastor or the leaders.

The church is the assembly of God's people.

One of the best object lessons I am able to give on this subject is the description of a photo that was displayed in the foyer of one of my former churches. The picture was actually a nice shot of the front of the building. Looking at it from a little distance, it seemed to be just that, but as you got closer to the picture something else became visible: tiny pixel areas showed the faces of the church's members. The message I took from the photograph was: we love our church building, but it is nothing without our church members. Ultimately, church is defined by it's congregation, by the assembly of God, by its people.

So, with this point in mind let's look at our statement from Mt. 18:20 again: "For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them."

Apparently, as the assembly of the church gathers, God promises to show up in a special way. Worship is a supernatural event that goes beyond the social or charitable dynamics.

Do we as a church really believe that Jesus is here this morning, that he is sitting right here in the pew, invisible to our eyes?

The thing is, the context of the passage really doesn't support this theory, but instead supports another theory in which Jesus is present. For this passage clearly talks about the strength that lies in the unity of the church. Jesus promises that if his disciples are spiritually aligned, we will be able to move mountains.

I honestly believe that Jesus is present here in our assembly this morning, but not invisibly, but rather in the person that sits to your right, left, front and back. When we get together as believers for worship we will see Jesus in the person next to us if we open our spiritual eyes.

Unfortunately, often times we do not look for the spiritual in our brother or sister. We look at our human side, at the things that separate us, not the things that unite us. We bicker about who should be considered worthy of membership rather than embracing the divinity of the person next to us.

This interpretation of the presence of Christ in the believer certainly has roots in the early Christian tradition:

The apostle Paul talks about the church as the "body of Christ" in 1Corinthians 12.

In Galatians 3:27 Paul says: "for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ."

And in 2 Corinthians 5:17 he states: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"

This morning, I am really curious about how we as believers carry Christ within us. Is this just a figure of speech or did the early church truly believe that there was a substantial change that occurred perhaps at baptism or through conversion?

According to Carl Jung, as humans grow and develop, life challenges them to ever higher forms of consciousness and self-awareness. As we pass from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, nature abandons us to the world of consciousness. We are forced to say "goodbye to childlike unconsciousness and trust in nature." Jung identifies four main stages in this development:

1. The Athlete Stage - At this stage, we are mostly preoccupied with our looks, with the way our body looks.

2. The Warrior Stage - During this period, this stage, our main concern is to go out there and conquer the world, to do our best, be the best and get the very best, to do what warriors do, and act like warriors.

3. The Statement Stage - At this time, this stage in your life, you realize what you have achieved so far is not enough for you to feel fulfilled, to be happy. You are now looking for ways to make a difference in the world, for ways to serve those around you. You are now preoccupied with ways to start giving. You now know that giving is receiving and it is time for you to stop being selfish, egotistical and self-centered and think of ways to help those in need, to leave this world better than it was when you arrived.

4. The Stage of the Spirit - According to Jung, this will be the last stage of our life, a stage where we realize that we are more than our body, we are more than our possessions, more than our friends, our contributions. We come to the realization that we are divine beings, spiritual beings having a human experience, and not human beings having a spiritual experience. We now know this is not our home, and we are not what we thought we are. We are in this world but not of it.

How similar is that description of the Christian experience of a God experience? I can't believe that Jung actually describes the stage of the spirit in terms of us becoming aware of our divinity. That's exactly what we're talking about today as we try to define the concept of "Christ within us."

However, I submit that the Jungian description of the stages of self-consciousness falls short of describing how we get to that state of understanding. It falls short because psychology as a social science limits itself to the human experience and therefore cannot account for the part God plays in the process.

For I believe it does take an act of God to lift us as believers into the state of becoming divine--of assuming an carrying Christ within us. God reveals Godself to us and this revelation brings about a substantial change within us. Believers often define such a God-experience as the moment of the most significant life-change. They describe it in terms of a new birth, a conversion, a spiritual enlightenment, a repentance, or a turning experience. Almost all of these descriptions credit God with revealing important life-changing affirmation of the subject. In these moments of revelation, God affirms

- our self-worth
- that we are loved unconditionally
- that there is a cosmic purpose for our lives
- that God's grace covers all our sins and mistakes
- that our life will continue beyond this life

The good news this morning is that Christ claims all of our lives, that Christ dwells within each and everyone of us.

We are indeed divine beings in human bodies.

We are truly and deeply beloved.

Our lives really do matter.

We have a purpose and calling on our lives that goes beyond the ordinary and temporal.

It means that we are somebody in the eyes of God and in the history of the cosmos. It means that the same power that was in Christ lives in us. The power that raised him from the dead lives within us!

Christ in us means that we are immortal, that we are children of the creator of all the universes past and present.

And as we align ourselves with our brothers and sisters and the goodwill of God there is nothing that will be impossible for us. Nothing is impossible for us, the sky's the limit.

That's who and what we are as God's beloved children and as followers of Christ. Let's dwell on that, shall we? Let it sink in. Because this is good news. This is huge. Amen.