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Last week we hosted a First Lutheran Family Fun day complete with sledding and smores, hot cocoa, and a bonfire. We even had llamas show up! It was 40 degrees outside and after a week in the deep freeze it felt wonderful to be in community and share in Christian fellowship, enjoying one another in God’s creation.
We have been the Church scattered throughout this COVID season, but last week we were the Church gathered and it was good! As I reflected on the smiles, and laughter and sheer thrill of racing down the hill with my Church family, a power ballad from my childhood surfaced. It was from the hair band, Cinderella and the chorus was stuck in my head; “You don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone.” I think I had taken the beauty and the wonder of Christian community for granted. It was always there, until it wasn’t. I didn’t know just how much I needed to be surrounded by other believers to be strengthened in my own faith, until standing by a bonfire roasting a marshmallow, I realized the strength I felt in sharing the joy of the Lord with others.
Fashion trends come and go. Fads fade and decades turn the calendar’s page. Music changes and people come and go, but at the core of our life together is Christ. Christian community remains a necessary piece of the spiritual life. It’s like the prophet Isiah says, “The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God will stand forever.” The word of God takes on flesh and breathes God’s spirit in the community of faith. I need you. You need me. We need one another. We are better together.
“Behold how very good and pleasant it is when the people of God live together!”
– Psalm 133:1
Never should we again take for granted the privilege to gather together as the community of faith, even if it takes a llama and a rock band on a sledding hill to figure it out.
Peace.
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