1Hallelujah! Sing to the LORD a new song,
God's praise in the assembly of the faithful.
2Let Israel rejoice in their maker;
let the children of Zion be joyful in their ruler.
3Let them praise their maker's name with dancing;
let them sing praise with tambourine and harp.
4For the LORD takes pleasure in the people
and adorns the poor with victory. (ELW)

If you've ever gone with Ken Weiss on a youth trip, work camp experience, or any of the other many other events Ken leads and facilitates in our Youth and Family Ministry, then you've already heard this sermon. I haven't been around here as long as some of you, but I've been around long enough to know that when we come to the end of a week at confirmation camp, or when we're packing up after an eventful service experience, Ken likes to remind everyone what's real, and what's not. As we head home from a great retreat or an awesome conference, it's typical for someone, youth or adult, to sigh and say, "Well, back to the real world." And here's where Ken will jump in to say, "No, what we've experienced here is real. The community, the caring, the affirmation, the security of sound friendships, all the stuff that's made our time together memorable and precious, that's what's really real, and it's our job to carry that reality back to our homes, schools, and relationships."

Thanks, Ken, because that's exactly the message I want to communicate this morning as we come to the end of our 40 Days of Community. Since our kick-off at the end of September, we've focused on what's really real in our life together as the people of God. We began with affirming the love of God as the absolute touchstone of all reality, and further, that sharing God's love in relationships of trust and acceptance matters more than anything else in the whole world. In the succeeding weeks we fleshed out that premise as we explored what it means for us to reach out, belong, grow, serve, and worship together in God's love. And the principle way we lived out those beliefs was in the 15 different small groups that formed for what Martin Luther once called "the mutual conversation and consolation of the brethren." The small groups were our laboratories for deepening our relationships in the Body of Christ as we supported and cared for one another in prayer and study. But those same small groups were also our primary vehicles for deepening our relationship to the community around us, leading to over a dozen different ongoing ministry projects that are now reaching out to some of the most vulnerable and needy people in our city and county. In Sabbath worship, weekly groups, and daily personal devotions we realized how we really are better together.

And now as we come to the end of this spiritual campaign, I wouldn't be surprised if somebody were to comment, "Well, back to the real world." But here's exactly where I want to reprise Ken and say, "No, this is real life, this is real Christianity, this is the real church." What so often passes for life, or passes for Christianity, or passes for church is only the faintest reflection of what God has defined as the real thing. Is life just a daily drudge you try to forget about on the weekends? Is Christianity just about coming and going to church? Is church just a building you have to keep up or a program you have to pay for? No. Real life is the love of God that comes to us through faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Real Christianity is sharing that love in relationships of depth and integrity within the Body of Christ. And real church is taking that love to the ends of the earth in mission to those who are hungering, thirsting, and dying for the real kingdom brought to earth in Christ Jesus.

Next Sunday the banners might be different. Our butterfly cross may be moved. We'll probably have some of the posters down and I'll retire my "Better Together" stole for a while. The 40 Days of Community program will, indeed, have come and gone, but there's no going back. There's only going forward. What we've known and felt and seen and experienced is too real for us ever to settle for anything less than what we've shared these past few weeks. Existing groups will continue their mutual ministry of care and prayer. New groups will form to further deepen the bonds of love and affection in this expression of Christ's Body. Likewise, ministry projects will not only continue, but expand to reach more and more with the helping, healing touch of God's Spirit-led people. In God's time and by God's power, even the community problems we might consider giants will fall as we work with each other, as we work side by side. And Christ Lutheran Church will partner with all God's children, wherever, whenever, and however, to bring good news to the poor, "to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4: 18-19).

This is God's reality. And what's real for God, is real for us.

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.