Let us pray: O God, we gather here as your people, to sing and say our praise to you, and to hear of your good news for us. May these words be ones which help that all to happen. Amen.

    The title for the reflection this morning comes from the hand game that I’m quite sure has been part of life experience for at least some of you. You know the one I mean - here is the church, here is the steeple, open the doors and see all the people. My first thought was to ask the question - here is the church, where are the people - but I thought that might give the wrong message on this Sunday of Labour Day weekend - the last long weekend of the summer when many will choose to visit cabins or cottages, campgrounds or islands out on the big lake, and the first Sunday of our fall schedule when worship is back to starting at 11:00 am and the announcement page is full of information about committees and activities.

    The intention was not to lay a guilt trip on anyone for spending the weekend elsewhere - of course, anyone doing that wouldn’t be here anyway - thus making it pointless - even if that was the intention. So, rather than risk a misinterpretation of the title for the reflection, I decided on a small change, wondering about the missing steeple rather than the absent people.

    You might think that I had Northern United Place in mind - there is nothing in the way of steeple on this unique building - and of course I did, but even more, I was thinking about the hymn “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”and also “The church is wherever God’s people are praising, singing God’s goodness for joy on this day. The church is where disciples of Jesus remember his story and walk in his way. The church is wherever God’s people are helping, caring for neighbours in sickness and need. The church is wherever God’s people are sharing the words of the Bible in gift and in deed.”

    These thoughts spring out of the reading we had from the book of Hebrews this morning. As you heard, these particular verses serve as a kind of instruction manual for faithful living in the Christian church community. They focus on the importance of relationship, working together for the common good. The passage also is the source for that wonderful metaphor which suggests that when we extend hospitality to others with a meal or a bed, we may have unwittingly entertained angels. Such a description reminds me of a comment I once heard from Freddie the Freeloader - the alter ego of comedian Red Skelton - who said that he, Freddie the Freeloader always smiled at everyone and treated them well because he had heard that we were made in God’s image and since we don’t know what God looks like, he needed to smile at everyone because he just might be smiling at God.

    The instruction for faithful living extends into the gospel passage this morning - with a story from Jesus about the importance of not thinking too highly of ourselves. He reminds guests and hosts alike that everyone is important in God’s eyes and that we do not do ourselves any good by assuming or expecting that we should occupy the honoured place.

    Humility is an oft cited trait of faithful Christian living. The passage from Micah which gives inspiration to the song we sang a few moments ago places it in the Hebrew scripture along side the references to the same characteristic in the two Christian scripture passages that we heard this morning.

    Certainly, humility is important - at an important level it recognises our inherent equality as God’s people and places us appropriately in relationship with each other and with God. I also believe that humility can be over emphasised or misunderstood. There is a marked lack of self-esteem among people in this world, and this should not be confused with humility. Jesus, while challenging those who would place themselves among the honoured guests at a dinner party was also the one who said that we must love others as we love ourselves. In other words, humility is not a suppression of self-respect but rather an appropriate placement of respect for self in the context of God’s world where no one can or should claim to have an honoured spot.

    Often during baptism preparation sessions I invite parents to reflect on where they might find a dozen Christians in an unfamiliar community. One answer is to go there on a Sunday morning and look for a church - presumably that could be done by looking for a steeple. But when I make the challenge a bit more difficult and say that they can’t choose Sunday, the result is a widening of perspective. What characteristics might lead a person to recognise someone of the Christian faith on a weekday? We could hope that they might be found by looking for someone distinguishable by their humility (despite the oxymoron nature of that description) or perhaps by searching for someone who is following the guidelines offered by the writer of Hebrews - extending hospitality to others or doing some good work for the betterment of the community - living out as it were the words of the hymn which say that the church is wherever God’s people are helping, caring for neighbours in sickness and need.

    Finally, a comment about steeples. On our home office well there is a calendar which has scenes from New York. The September page, which came into view just yesterday shows a photograph taken from the ground up of St. Patrick’s cathedral. Prominent among the surrounding skyscrapers are the two twin spires or steeples of the church. The tradition of steeples is that they were meant to be the most prominent piece of architecture in any community - thus identifying the church for visiting members of the Christian community and also standing in glory and honour of God by pointing Godward - up in the sky which is where God was understood to reside. The photo of St. Patrick’s in New York demonstrates that one of those goals - that of being the highest structure  in the community is almost laughably untrue - regardless of how impressive the spires are. The other goal might also be questioned in a day and age when we are much less likely to think of God as occupying the sky above us.

    Just as a church - Yellowknife United Church being a case in point - is not to be defined by the building but as the hymns say - by the people, we could hope that those same people might serve as the steeples of the church by pointing to God wherever they are to be found. God is at least in part to be found in the lives and actions of God’s people in the world. 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. Amen.