Church of the Holy City

The Internal and External Church

The Internal and External Church
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
January 30, 2011

Ezekiel 43:1-7 Revelation 21:9-26 Psalm 27

As we have our Annual General Meeting today, I thought I’d reflect on the meaning of just what a church is. So I selected Bible readings that had visions relating to the church. In Ezekiel, there was the vision of the rebuilt temple, which the glory of the Lord filled. Then in Revelation, we have a vision of the holy city New Jerusalem. There is actually no temple in it because the Lord Himself is present in it as its temple. In both the Ezekiel passage and the passage from Revelation, the Lord Himself is present in the temple and in the Holy City.
These passages caused me to reflect on the Edmonton Church of the Holy City. We are named after that vision in Revelation that we just heard. Would we say that the presence of the Lord is here, with us in this church? This is a question that I can’t answer for the church. This is because for us in this material world, the spiritual world is invisible. This is a question not for me to answer, but for each member and friend of this church to answer for themselves. Those who find the Lord here, find the Lord in their own heart. It is my belief that people of this church do find the Lord here, and I hope that that is why they come back Sunday after Sunday.
The church itself can be viewed in two ways. There is an internal and an external to the church. The internal of the church is what happens to each of us personally. And the external of the church is what we do when we come together in this building. When we have the church with us internally, it shines forth in the externals of our worship. But externals can be separated from internals, if we do not have the internal church in our hearts. Let us look a little deeper at just what is meant by the internal and external of a church.
We will start by considering the internal of the church. We are each one of us a church in miniature. Or at least we can be. We are a church individually when we have the things a church stands for in us. What would that be? The church stands for the worship of God. We have the internal of the church with us when we have the worship of God in our hearts. Worshipping God means more than listening to sermons, singing hymns that praise God, or hearing Bible readings about God. The true worship of God is letting God into our hearts, and minds, and lives. We are a church in miniature when we have God’s love in our hearts and God’s wisdom in our minds. Then when we act from love, through our best understanding of what love is; when our lives and actions flow forth from love and wisdom, then we are a church in miniature. Then when we go into a church building and participate in the worship service, we are bringing God into the church. Then when we hear sermons, hear readings from God’s Word, and when we sing hymns of praise and thankfulness to God, then we are bringing the internal of worship into the church building. Then the presence of the Lord is with us in the church building.
There is a second aspect to the internal of the church. This second aspect reflects the two great commands of Jesus. Jesus said that the heart of the law is all summed up in two great commands–love the Lord above all and love the neighbor as yourself. We have just looked at the first of these commands–love for the Lord. The second aspect of internal worship concerns the relations of the congregation to each other. The second aspect of internal worship is feelings of love for our fellows in this church. It means thinking well of each other and caring for each other. I have heard it expressed on numerous occasions how this church feels like a family. This is what is meant by the second aspect of internal worship. It is feelings of love for each other in this church community.
We are now in a position to look at what the externals of a church are. Let’s begin by looking at the most external of the church. That would be the physical church building that we enter on Sundays. The church building is a unique building very different from any other building we enter. It is different from a movie theatre. It is different from a store or a shopping mall. It is different from a restaurant. A church building is constructed as a place for worshipping God. The architecture and symbols in a church are all designed to call our attention to God. In a church building we have a raised altar, to signify a holy place within an already holy place. Then on the alter we have another higher altar on which are the Bible and the candlesticks. This symbolism is meant to show God’s immediate presence in the opened Word on the altar and the illumination from God’s Spirit in the lighted candles. God’s presence, then, can be thought to flow forth from the altar into the congregation. But there is another current that brings God’s presence into the church building. That is when each member of the congregation sees the altar and the opened Word, then their hearts open to these symbols and God’s presence flows from the congregation upward to the altar. (All of the language I have been using is metaphorical. I have been using language that involves space and direction. But as I am talking about material symbols, I hope it won’t be taken too literally, as if God’s Spirit actually flows down and up.)
The next level of external worship is the ritual of the church service. There is the responsive reading from a Psalm. This is a way of bringing the voice of the congregation and the voice of the minister together as we jointly invoke God’s presence in the church. We hear readings from the Lord’s Word. Many members of this church community have commented to me that they find my sermons to be the high point of the worship experience. I am gratified to hear this. But I suggest that the reading of the Lord’s Word is actually the high point of the worship experience. The Bible is God’s Word and a devout hearing of it can actually bring God’s presence into the hearer’s consciousness. Then we have the singing of hymns. These can be outpouring in song of gratefulness to God and of love for one another. Music touches the heart in a way that speech doesn’t. I have from time to time pondered the songs we sing from the Book of Worship. To a modern ear, these songs can sound to some degree outdated. I have thought about bringing a guitar into the worship service, and new, modern Christian songs. But that would mean learning all new songs, and may prove too much of a burden for the congregation. In any event, I am still toying with the idea.
These things constitute the externals of worship. In themselves, they mean nothing. By that I mean that if worship consists only of coming into a church building, reciting a Psalm, hearing a Bible reading and a sermon, and singing, without bringing the internal of worship to the experience, then the externals are without life. They would be like an empty shell with nothing inside it. On the other hand, though, if a person has the internals of worship in their soul, then the externals are charged with a power that even amplifies the internals. The opened Word, the candles, the Bible readings, the sermon all call forth the movements of a holy heart and give these externals a life. It is like the soul and the body. The internals are the soul of worship and the externals are like a body. And everything is most powerful when externals are filled with internal meaning. What would love be without a handshake, a hug, or a kiss? Externals can be extremely powerful if they contain internals.
Let us now consider this church itself. Between the members and supporters of the church we have about 45 people. And each person in this church body is an individual. This can be a blessing or a curse. Individuality and diversity mean that we have 45 different talents that each individual can bring to the life of the church. Swedenborg tells us that heaven is perfected by the variety and diversity of the communities and individuals in it. We have a significant pool of resources, when we consider 45 people all contributing their talents to the common good. Then the variety in this church is a blessing. On the other hand, 45 individuals can also mean 45 different opinions about how things should be going in the church. This can lead to division and conflict. Then the variety of our congregation becomes a curse. Today we are having our Annual General Meeting. I would like to see everyone fired up with a zeal for how they think the church should be going. I would like to see everyone willing to take part in the leading of our congregation. But I would also like to see respect for difference and variety. We can differ with each other and still remain a unified congregation. I would like to see respect for the common good of this church prevail. That means hearing and understanding each other. Maybe our way can yield to someone else’s way. Maybe someone else has an idea we haven’t thought of. Lets’ see our individuality and diversity as a strength, not a liability. Let us remember the two internals of the church–love for the Lord and love for each other. Then this external church organization will have its externals fill with the spiritual internals it stands for.
When externals are filled with internals, then God is present in the church. Then the glory of the Lord is in this temple. Then God and the Lamb are in the Holy City. Then we will find God dwelling with us in the Church of the Holy City.