The Church of England is good at inventing labels to describe the various ways in which we worship God.  So we have churches which are said to be High Church; Middle Church; Low Church; Evangelical; Liberal; Anglo-Catholic; Urban, sub-urban or rural; Charismatic; Forward in Faith; Reform.   The positive side of this is that people have choices about where they worship. In these days of increasing mobility it is possible to go to a church which reflects ones own particular theological stance, life-style or worship needs.  The negative side of this is that many churches no longer reflect their local communities which, from my experience, tend to be a mixture of all approaches. Also it is easy for labels to become barriers around congregations, isolating them from others. Indeed the whole Christian Church is good at that too which is why we have so many denominations.  Another, perhaps more serious negative is that the Christian Church no longer speaks with one voice and it is sometimes difficult for the non-Christian to understand what we are about.

Part of the problem may be that many believe their own approach to be the only right approach – that they alone have the only possible grasp of the Truth.  A bit like the story of the Church set up in a town which proclaimed itself as the Church of God. Eventually, as so often happens, some people fell out with the way things were going so they went off and set up a church further along the road. They erected a sign which read

THE TRUE CHURCH OF GOD.

Things went well for them for a while but then factions grew up in that church and once again people left to form a new Church. This time the sign read:

THE ONLY TRUE CHURCH OF GOD!

Small wonder then that those who look at us from the outside might be confused or worse might use what was a positive acclamation in early Church times into a condemnation. See how these Christians love one another! (it depends how you say it!)

Choice, differing emphasis, are not in themselves bad. Within the Epping Team by the end of today I will have experienced a variety of worship. I began with an 8am Communion service at St. John’s; then Theydon Garnon, Coopersale and tonight I shall end my worshipping day with BCP Choral Evensong at St. John’s. St. John’s will also have experienced an Upfront service which will be very different and there has been Prayer Book Mattins at Epping Upland.  One of the riches of the Church of England is that it is often described as a broad Church which accommodates these differing views. Another way of saying this is that Anglicans follow the Via Media – the Middle road – between Catholic on one side and Protestant on the other – taking the best of both into our system.

At the Reformation it was stressed that the Church of England was both Catholic and Reformed and as such we are a bridge Church which links two distinctive approaches to Christianity to each other.  In these days of increasing polarisation within our own Church it may not be possible to hold that view but there may also be a truth that if you threw all the Christian churches into a bag and mixed them up what you would get is the Church of England!  That might worry some of the denominations but it would be an immense satisfaction to Anglicans!

In the midst of all this diversity, choice, and difference, how do we measure the quality of what we believe and how do we decide what are the distinctive marks of a Christian Community.  How do we know that we actually are a Church?  Thankfully, we do not have to go very far and the answer lies in something we have heard this morning from the Acts of the Apostles.

In Acts 2: 42 we have some words which gives us a blueprint for a truly Christian Community.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

When these 4 things are present – you have a Church – so let’s look at them more carefully:

The Apostles’ Teaching. This is the received teaching about Jesus Christ which has been handed on from generation to generation.  Initially, amongst the early Christian it spread by word of mouth. The Apostles and other close followers of Jesus told of their experience of him from physically following him. They saw what he did; they heard what he had to say; they shared in his Mission which was to love people into His father’s Kingdom.  Eventually this material about Jesus was gathered together by four evangelists and turned into the 4 Gospels we have today and this Gospel teaching is the bedrock of the Christian faith. It explains the Old Testament writings which went before – because Jesus fulfilled all the actions of God in the Hebrew Scriptures and it points towards the future through the interpretation given on the Gospel through, first, New Testament writings and then the writings of the early Church Christians whose testimony we still look to though every generation has added to the Christian understanding of who Jesus is and what he is doing.

But there is more to it even than that.  What the Apostles Teaching really sought to do was to help people in seeking a living relationship with the Risen Christ – a relationship which the disciples had and which all followers of Christ must have. So we can add to their witness the relationship of other Christians who believed because of them. That is why the lives of the Saints are so instructive.  It is also why our own personal experience of God and the insights that brings is so important. Because the revelation of God’s love and action in the lives of individuals is a continuous one through which we develop as Christians, we each have unique insights into Scripture, Jesus Christ and the Christian life that we can share with others – The Apostles’ Teaching is something we try to live by and we are helped in that through the shared experience of others.

This sharing together is the second mark of a Church –The Fellowship or to give it the word St. Luke used – Koinonia.  It is a difficult word to translate into English but it literally means sharing something with someone. In the Christian context it is best described as Holy Fellowship which includes sharing a common life with each other, but within the context of a Christ-centred relationship. True Koinonia is the relationship of love which binds together the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit and which they draw us into.  It is foremost about a relationship we have with God and because of that, with each other.

Churches which practice Koinonia are communities where everyone matters and where real and genuine concern, care and friendship are obvious. At the same time such communities must be open-hearted to the stranger, the newcomer and visitor. Such a Church is generous and outward looking. It is less concerned with its own preoccupations and much more concerned to share the love of God with all.

What holds this Fellowship together is the 3rd mark of the Church –The Breaking of Bread.  This is a clear reference to the importance of the Eucharist and from its first days the Christian Community has met to break the bread of the Eucharist, in which, as the Emmaus story of last week’s Gospel reminds us, we meet the Risen Christ.  But it extends beyond this. The meals we share with each other in our homes are extensions of the Eucharist, We break the bread of friendship and share our table, our homes and our love with others.  Throughout the Gospel there are many instances of Jesus breaking bread with others – the meals he had in people’s homes were often significant moments when hearts were converted by God’s love.  Through meals of friendship we build up loving relationships both within our family and with others. One of the lamentations of our present society is that family life is fragmented because families no longer eat together.  Breaking Bread is another way of extending fellowship and sitting together with God. Just as the Risen Lord was recognised at Emmaus when bread was broken, so we should seek to recognize Him in each other whenever we sit at table.

Undergirding all this is the 4th mark of an authentic Church – The Prayers.  Praying together as Christians takes many forms from the worship we do in Church to the quiet moments we have when we are alone with God. We pray together or alone but ultimately prayer is not a conversation we have with each other but with God. I like what Mother Mary Clare, a nun I once knew, wrote when she said that

Prayer is a Love Affair with God.

It is a growing relationship of Love and it grows out of thankfulness for all that God means to us and for all that He has done, and goes on doing for us – especially in Jesus Christ whose own life was full of prayer moments with His Father.  A Prayerful Church is a Church constantly in touch with God and which seeks most of all to do God’s Will.  When a Church stops praying it turns in on itself and is no longer doing what God wants.

The Apostles Teaching; the Fellowship; the Breaking of Bread; the Prayers. These are the Marks of a genuine Church. At the heart of such a Church is the Love of God – a Love which is offered generously, openly and without limitation.  It is a Church which lives by the Call of God and which is always attentive to His Voice. It recognizes that voice above the clamour of the world.  Like the sheep in today’s Gospel who knew the difference between the voice of God and a strangers voice.  It is so easy to follow other voices – and sometimes those voices are within the Church itself – but only Jesus offers us the gate to eternal life and only Jesus is the gate which we are to pass through freely if we are to be people who, loved by God, can share His eternal live with all.

To be a Church on Fire with Love is at the heart of what we are to do and be and become. Anything less is not an authentic Church. 

See how these Christians love one another

was a cry of those who saw in Christians something different from the world around them. It was immediately attractive and it drew people to the Love of God.

So the Questions we must always have before us is these:

• Are we that kind of Church, that sort of Christian?

• Will people be attracted to the Risen Lord through who we are, what we do and how we pray?

• Will they want to break bread with us because we can show them the Risen Christ in our midst?

• Is our Love for each other and for everyone real?

• Do we, in truth, live by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and put Him before all else?