From my book A Man Like No Other 2, which can also be found in the Lectionary-themed equivalent A Most Amazing Man (Year A), a meditation on the promise of Christ to be with us whenever we meet together in his name.
Read
For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them. Matthew 18:20
The meditation of Matthew
He said he’d be there, however small our numbers,
present among us if we met in his name.
And he was at first,
when, as we huddled behind locked doors,
he appeared among us,
risen,
victorious,
alive!
It was wonderful,
breathtaking,
all the more so, given that he’d been dead and buried,
for we honestly thought we’d said goodbye.
Suddenly he was with us again,
our friend Jesus,
and we assumed it would stay like that for ever.
only it wasn’t to be,
for once more he was taken away,
transported before our very eyes,
and when we next met together,
gathered for prayer and worship,
we waited to see him in vain.
He’ll come, I said,
give him time,
but days turned to weeks . . .
weeks to months . . .
and he didn’t.
or at least, so we thought,
but of course we were wrong,
for as we broke bread and shared wine,
he was there,
as we read from the Scriptures,
he was there,
as we ministered to others in word and deed,
he was there,
his Spirit with us in all we did,
and I’ve come to understand what I should have grasped before:
that those words of his weren’t just promising he’d be there for us –
that could be taken as read –
but asking whether we’d be there for him!
Prayer
Risen Lord,
teach us that though you are enthroned on high
you are also close by our sides;
though you are far off
you are also near;
though you have left us in the flesh
you are with us in the Spirit.
Help us to recognise your presence through worship and reflection;
to glimpse your glory in the world around us;
to hear your call in the cry of the needy;
and, above all, to meet and greet you in the fellowship of your
people,
celebrating the truth that where two or three are gathered in your
name,
you are there indeed amongst them,
just as you promised to be.
Amen.