Why Does the Church Remain?
By Rev. Herbert C. Mueller
Jr.
District
President
Simply put, because Jesus lives,
because Jesus gives His Spirit in His Word.
You are reading this in the midst of
the season of Pentecost, the “time of the Church” in the Christian year. The Gospels this year are all from
Matthew: the call of Matthew, the tax
collector; Jesus has compassion on the crowds; the parable of the sower; the
parable of the weeds in the wheat, and so forth. Sunday after Sunday we are directed to the
Word of God.
For the Lord Jesus, in His Word, is
the source of the Church’s life – nothing more, nothing less.
Yet there are times when the Holy
Christian Church looks neither holy, nor Christian, nor even like a
church. We’ve all experienced this
disappointment when people have failed us – or when we have failed others in
the church.
What then?
Even as the Church proclaims
repentance, the Church herself is ever called to repentance. Even as the Church seeks to tell the story of
Christ, she is called to hear again the voice of her Master, “Come unto me all
you who labor and are heavy laden,” Jesus says, “and I will give you
rest.” (Matthew
The Church’s holiness comes from the
fact that Christ is holy and daily washes His Church in the water of baptism,
daily forgiving and restoring her to Himself.
The Church is Christian because Christ puts His name on her, and then
calls her to follow Him. She is Church because
He has called her His own.
Christ gives His Spirit in His Word
daily to call the Church, and the world through the Church, to repentance and
faith. This is why the Church remains,
and ever shall remain.
Much to the surprise of those in
every age who thought the Church would succumb to the prevailing “wisdom” of
the day, the Church lives and thrives because Jesus lives to keep His promise:
“On this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail
against it” (Matthew
Our task, then, our calling is to
point people to this life that is really Life, to the living Lord Jesus. He walks among His churches, the Book of
Revelation says, assuring us, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.
This Sunday, when you go to church,
take a new look at what is going on.
Look past anything that annoys you about your pastor or the people and
hear the Word of God afresh as it is – the Word of Jesus directly to you. Remember that Jesus gives His Body and Blood
for you. Remember that He put His name
on you in your Baptism. He is alive to
give you life. Go then with His life
into your daily life. Go and bring to
others this life that is the only real Life.
The Church remains because Jesus
lives – and in Him, so do you!