David Bahn – Reflections

We may refer to a church as Pastor Jones’ church, as Mike’s, Tom’s, or Mary’s church, or even “my church.” We surely don’t mean to imply that any pastor, person, or that we ourselves own the church; we know better than that. But our easy language habits may betray a failure to remember whose church it actually is.

Matthew 16:13-20

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷And Jesus answered him,  “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰ Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus says he will build his church upon the foundation of Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. This is a reminder that the church is truly Christ’s church. As I consider the implications of that truth, I am struck by the reality that I am a steward of God’s Gifts and work in God’s church. It does not belong to me. I don’t set its priorities. I don’t determine its mission.

I am seldom tempted to think of the church as belonging to me. St. John is nearly 160 years old. It was here long before I even knew that there was a St. John Lutheran Church. Barring some very sad turn of events or the triumphant return of Jesus on the Last Day it will be going long after I have ended my work here. But it is a good reminder for me that I am a steward of Christ’s gifts and blessings and serve as a pastor of his church.

We are stewards. All things actually belong to God. But he has given us the privilege to be a part of his work in the world through his church. So let’s be careful, too about phrases like, “my pew,” or “my Sunday school class,” or even “my pastor.” That doesn’t mean we can’t ever use those phrases; it may mean, however, that we at least occasionally go to the trouble of saying, “The pew where I normally sit might be a place for someone new to sit. I’ll gladly move so that God’s church can grow and more people can join us as we confess that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God.” Well that may be a rather idealistic thought; but at least I can dream, can’t I?