The Three Churches

Sermon: The Three Churches October 14, 2007 1 Peter 1:18-2:10

Stories have always been a part of my life. Perhaps the same is true for you. I hope so. Some of my earliest memories are of listening to stories. My Dad’s brother, Uncle Joe, had amazing ones. He would sit on our porch on week-end evenings and tell us about donkey races, the woman who got up out of her casket, or funny things that had happened.

Then there were the classic folktales told by my mother:
The Ugly Duckling, The Three Billy Goats Gruff,
Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Boy who Cried “Wolf”,
Stone Soup, The Shoe-maker and the Elves,
Jack and the Bean-stalk, and Rumpelstiltskin, to name a few.

And of course there were the Biblical stories, which she knew how to make come alive. Once when I was five, my older brother and I were sick several days with the measles. My mother pulled out the sleeper bed from the sofa for the two of us to spend the day on. We did get to watch some TV, but what I remember was that on that sofa bed, the children of Israel escaped from Egyptian captivity. Using my little plastic army men, toy farm animals, and a great variety of other household items, she recreated the story of the plagues on Egypt and the Israelites’ escape across the Red Sea.

One good thing about stories is that once you have the basic form, you can pretty well adapt the story. I did this often with my girls. I’d have them name an animal and off we’d go with the tale.

There was one made-up story that was told often in our house. It is the story of Tony the Turtle. Tony was sad because all the animals on the farm seemed to have a job to do. But he couldn’t do anything, except walk “slowly and carefully.” The horse pulled the cart, the dog guarded the house, the chickens laid the eggs, and so on. But Tony the turtle just seemed to be in the way. However, one day, the cow called Tony over. Her leg was hurt and she couldn’t carry her bucket of milk to the farmer’s house. She needed someone who could walk slowly and carefully. She put the bucket on Tony’s back and off he went, not spilling a drop. Tony finally realized that even though he was different from the other animals on the farm, he had abilities that were important as well.

A couple of years ago, Lauren called home from Texas to tell us something funny. It seems she and her friends were sitting around talking about their childhood. As they spoke of their favorite fairy tales and bedtime stories, Lauren said, “yeah, like Tony the Turtle.” All her friends just stared at her like she was hallucinating. She’d thought Tony the Turtle was as famous as Barney the Purple Dinosaur! When her friends told her they had never heard of Tony the Turtle, she was aghast.

Well, if you read the Trumpeteer, you know my wife told a story in her church the other week. And since stories belong to us all, I decided to borrow it. It is the story of the three churches.

Once upon a time, in a place not too far away, there lived three pigs. Now these pigs weren’t just any pigs. These pigs were good ‘ole Methodist pigs – and these pigs were their mother’s pride and joy. But one day, Momma Pig called them together and said this: “You are good pigs – in fact, you are great pigs! But there is a time in all pigs’ lives when they must leave their home and do what they are called to do. You pigs come from a long line of church builders, and that is what you must do.” The pigs were saddened at the thought of leaving their mother, but each immediately began to think of the church he would build. So, they packed their bags and briefcases, and set off to their new adventure.

The first pig was the youngest – and he had much to prove. He wanted to be first to build a church. And he was quite the pleaser! He read his piggy Bible and saw where Jesus went about the towns and cities meeting the needs of people, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, teaching and guiding them. He decided that if he was going to build a church for others to attend, he must give them everything they wanted.

So he began to ask others what they wanted in a church. He was surprised to hear so many different things. The first piggy he met said she wanted a church that did a lot of mission work for unfortunate pigs. One said he wanted a church with a great praise band and contemporary worship. One said she wanted a church that was quiet and meditative. Another wanted a church that had a lot to give her children – one that wouldn’t require much from her. One said he wanted a church that held to tradition – that honored past glories. One said she wanted a church that had a great preacher – one who always held her attention during worship. He even found one pig who wanted to be able to drink coffee during worship!

One said he wanted a church that served great meals after every service. And one little pig who actually wore a watch said she wanted a church where the sermons never lasted over 10 minutes! Soon, the church was built – and somehow the youngest pig was able to provide all the things everyone wanted.

But one day, the Big Bad Wolf came to church. He looked at the pig, who was weary from trying to please everyone, and said, “I am going to huff and puff and blow your church down.” No, No, said the youngest pig, not by the hair of my chiny, chin, chin – here have a latte and enjoy the music!

But, the wolf huffed and he puffed – and he didn’t have to puff a whole lot – he just puffed dissatisfaction throughout the church. And very soon, the church came tumbling down – because pigs who worry only about what they want, easily become dissatisfied.

The middle pig was a pig who liked to have things in order; who liked everything black and white. When he was a little pig, he worked very hard to stay in the lines when he colored. And this pig was determined not to make the same mistake as his brother. He wanted to build a better church. He read his piggy Bible and saw where Jesus taught about doing the right things. He loved reading, and re-reading the Ten Commandments. So, he decided it would be best to build a church that had absolute beliefs and truths.

Soon this pig was surprised to find there were so many beliefs – so many that he decided he better build a bigger church. And he wrote a whole book with a lot of rules and a lot of beliefs that they were to live by. Rules like:
-only pigs could attend their church – in fact,
-only pink pigs could attend church;
-only pink pigs who had made no major mistakes could attend;
And the rules went on and on. There were so many rules and truths, that the membership of the church was small and much of the members’ time was spent looking at all those who didn’t measure up. The second pig said, “Now I have a church that will last.”

The Big Bad Wolf heard about this church and decided to visit. And although it was obvious he wasn’t a pig, nor was he pink, he forced his way in. He looked at the middle pig, who now had a deep furrow in his brow from judging and keeping rifters out, and said, “I am going to huff and puff and blow your church down.”

No, No, said the middle pig, not by the hair of my chiny, chin, chin. Not by the rules of right of order, and not by our set of Biblical beliefs! But the wolf huffed, and he puffed – but this church was sturdier than the last. Blowing dissatisfaction into the church did not really work. So he huffed and puffed again – and he blew pride and judgment! It was amazing how quickly the cracks came, and how they got bigger and bigger - and soon the church came tumbling down.

Then it was time for the oldest pig to build his church. Being the oldest, this pig had more life experience and more wisdom. He knew he must find something different with which to build his church. He had spent much of his childhood with his grandfather, who was the greatest church-builder of all.

The oldest pig read his piggy Bible, and he was impressed with what Jesus said about loving God with everything you are, and loving your neighbor as yourself. After a lot of thought, he decided to find pigs who truly cared about others. Now, this took longer, because there were some who said they loved others, but their actions proved a different truth about them. He decided he better watch these pigs and not simply take them at their word.

When he found a pig who loved God, and truly loved others, he would ask him or her to come to a particular spot on a particular day. The number of pigs he invited was not really large, but they all seemed excited about getting together. The Big Bad Wolf, who had already destroyed two churches, decided he would show up at their little gathering as well.

The day came when all the pigs who truly loved others gathered – and the third pig was surprised that there were more pigs there than he’d expected. He found that those pigs he had invited – who truly loved – came to the gathering bringing others – bringing pigs of all types – little pigs, pink pigs, brown pigs, dirty pigs, clean pigs, fat pigs, thin pigs – all very different, but all loving others.

They came that day, to that appointed place and said, “Where’s the church?” And the third pig smiled and said,
I am the church. You are the church.
We are the church together.
All who follow Jesus, all around the world –
Yes, we’re the church together.

Well, the Big Bad Wolf just laughed and laughed – and he huffed and puffed – and he blew and blew. But the pigs ignored him. He huffed dissatisfaction, but the pigs were too busy singing, “I am the church, you are the church, we are the church together.”

Then the Wolf puffed pride and judgment. But the pigs brought out fried chicken and macaroni and green beans and biscuits and strawberry shortcake and began sharing with one another. They even fixed a plate for the wolf, as they shared what they had with neighbor pigs who didin’t have anyone to care for them.

Once again, the Wolf huffed and puffed, and blew and blew – but no one paid him any attention. As far as I know, the Wolf is still huffing and puffing today – blowing dissatisfaction and pride and judgment wherever he can. But the pigs-who-love keep coming back. And when they come together, they sing,
“I am the church. You are the church.
We are the church together.
All who follow Jesus, all around the world –
yes, we are the church together."

And that’s how this story ends.


Notes: "The Three Churches" story written by the Rev. Cynthia C. Taylor, 2007. Lyrics to "We Are The Church" by Richard R. Avery and Donald S. Marsh, 1972 copyright Hope Publishing Company.