Gathered and Scattered

I’ve just finished reading Here Comes Everybody, by Clay Shirky. In his book, Shirky addresses the ways that technology, the Internet, and social networking media like Facebook are changing the way that people organize, gather, and communicate. Shirky calls it an “epochal change.”

The insights from this book have got me thinking reflecting on the implications these technological advances have on the Church; specifically our identity as a people “gathered.” One of the chief hallmarks of our Christian identity is our weekly gathering for worship. (Worship is one of the four Vital Signs of missional vitality at Holy Cross). These gatherings occur in a specific place and time each week. There was a time, not so long ago, when the wider culture accommodated these gatherings. Stores were closed on Sundays, youth soccer was unheard of, ballgames never took place, and the cultural expectation was that people would attend worship. Not so anymore. Our lives are extremely busy and we are presented with a plethora of opportunities 7 days a week. These opportunities draw us away from regular, weekly worship in community. The church, in turn, has found itself in a competitive position with the opportunities that call for people’s time, attention, and resources. Between you and me, it’s not a fair fight.

Contrary to what many people would like to think, the Christian faith is not an individual affair. Certainly prayer and worship can and should occur in personal devotion time, but as Christians we are baptized into a community. In and with that community, we pray “Our Father in heaven...Give us this day our daily bread.” The apostle Paul compares the Christina community to a body with individual parts all playing a role to support the work of the whole.” Jesus said: “Wherever two or three are gathered, I’m there with them.”

Martin Luther said that in addition to Word and Sacrament, the power of the gospel also comes through the mutual conversation and consolation of brothers and sisters” (Smalcald Articles, Part III, rt. 4). The amazing power of technology can (and already does) support the church’s life together in this way. In so doing, it is calling us to re-imagine what this “epochal change” means for us to be a people gathered and scattered. While not together in one place at the same time, we remain connected and in communion through new social tools that are opening new horizons.  

But for all of the possibilities that technology offers us in our life together, we are still a people who confess the importance of incarnation.  In the person of Jesus, God took on flesh so that we would not only believe, but that we would experience the promise of God’s love. The reason that we gather each week is to hear, taste, touch, see, and smell that promise in water, bread, wine, and the familiar perfume of the lady who squeezes your hand and reminds you that she’s praying for you. That’s incarnation. That’s community.