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But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian,  for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.  As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. (vv. 25-28)

Some years ago, there was a large gathering in what was then known as the Soviet Union. A brilliant man spoke for ninety minutes on behalf of atheism, attempting to persuade the crowd to give up religion. When he was finished, a young Russian Orthodox priest approached the platform and asked if he could speak. The atheist speaker said, “Yes, but only for five minutes." The priest replied, "I won't need that much time."

The priest mounted the stage, stood before the microphone, and cried out in a clear voice, "Alleluia, Christ is risen!"

An immediate response came back from the crowd: "The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!"

The young priest turned to the atheist and said, "That is my speech. I need no more time."

I like that story, but not for the reason it is usually told in churches or related in sermons on Christian radio. It is the kind of story that is usually used to show up non-believers, to do battle with the atheists, as if there is a need to defeat or prove wrong all those in the world who don't believe in God.

I love this story because of the quick response of the crowd, "The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!"

That is the reason the church exists. In those six little words those of us who love Jesus and know him to be alive find our reason for being.

You may remember that old commercial for H&R Block, the tax preparation service, which shows several men sitting in a sauna? All but one of them is perspiring profusely. When one of the perspiring men asks the non-perspiring man why he is so calm and dry, he replies, "I've got people," meaning, (if I understand the commercial correctly and understand you are hearing this from someone who often has to ask his wife to explain what some commercials are about) meaning he is not sweating anything this tax season because his tax people will take care of everything. "I've got people."

That's what the young orthodox priest had that the brilliant atheist didn't have. He had people, friends who were witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus.

I visited an area church one time to hear a friend preach. In the midst of the sermon he asked the congregation, “If your church disappeared from the community today, what would be missed? What would people notice was gone that made a difference in their lives?

Sometimes all the preacher needs to do is ask one good question. I have been working on the answer to this one ever since. 

What came to mind first are the many ministries performed by churches like food pantries, shelters for the homeless, meals for the homebound, disaster relief and overseas missions, hospital and hospice visitation, children’s and youth initiatives, and so many more programs that make a difference in people’s lives. All of these would be missed.

But by far the biggest difference would be the absence of the church itself. It is the people of the church who no longer meet together that would leave a glaring hole.  There is a certain synergy that occurs when a group of Christians is together over many years. It is friendship and more.

We take strength from one another. My connections with people in my church help me to be a better person, to live out my calling as a follower of Jesus, to be a good neighbor, to be a grace filled, forgiving kind of person.

I don’t know about you, but I am not a very good follower of Jesus on my own. I need Jesus’ people to help me be faithful. There is power in the people. "The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!"