Jesus says, "if two of you agree on anything, ask the Father, and He will grant it." At another point, he says, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I will be there in the midst of them" It is recorded that, when he sent the seventy out, he sent them out two by two.

In our day of privatized religion, we miss the significance of what is being claimed in these texts. The Gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ, the message of salvation, redemption and liberation, is a message that is certainly personal. It addresses each of us, personally, with God's claim that he is MY God, that I belong to Him, and He belongs to ME. But that is not the whole Gospel. The Gospel not only frees us from sin and death, but also places me in a community of life. Jesus not only liberates me from sin, but also reconciles me to Him and to others. To be born again, to be baptized, means to be part of the body of Christ, to be put into relationship, to be in a community - because that is where the power of the Holy Spirit works to give us new life.

We receive communion - the very word refers to a gathering of the community with Christ. It is not just a personal, one-on-one with God. That is why Luther condemned private masses. As we go to the table, we are surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ. We hear the words of forgiveness and healing, and are reconciled to one another. The words, "this is my body; this is my blood," connect us. We eat and drink. We look around us, and see that we area surrounded by those who do the same. We share the same body and blood - which is a good definition of a body. We are ONE body - his body. Communion brings us together, through the word of his promise. It is the sacrament of his presence, where two or three area gathered in his name.

To worship, Hebrews says, is to gather God's people together so that we can strengthen and encourage one another in the faith. It's not one person, sitting alone in front of a T.V. set, no matter how inspiring the television preacher or the football game. It's not walking through the woods, reveling in the beauty of creation, no matter how uplifting that may be. It becomes worship where two or three are gathered to share God's Word and strengthen and encourage one another in faith. That, of course CAN be done at home also, with family and friends - that is how the church started, after all. You don't have to have the preacher there or a church building to have worship. But you do have to have two or three, gathered in faith. When the family gathers around the table, and strengthens and encourages one another in faith - that is worship. And Jesus gives his promise that he is present there.

That is the premise upon which Jesus makes this statement in our lesson today. He says that, if two agree on anything and take it to the Father in prayer, he will do it! Now, I've heard people claiming all kinds of absurd things based on this statement. One article I read said that this gives us the right to ask for anything we want, and God has to give it to us! Want a Rolls Royce? Just ask someone to pray with you for it! A better salary? You don't have to go to your boss - just get together with your spouse and pray for it! Maybe the problem is that we have too many Germans in the church - you know you can't get them to agree on anything!

Of course, the real problem is that this writer does what many do - he doesn't really investigate the scriptures. He doesn't really take God's Word seriously - he just makes it say what he would like it to say. The promise of two is directed toward God's people, the body of Christ, the confessing church. As we look for the Spirit's leading, God gives us help. I know what happens when I'm left alone with a problem. My mind gets fixed on a couple of possibilities, I usually get tied into a "worst case" scenario, and become sure that is how things will turn out. If left alone, I begin to feel hopeless and depressed - I may even lose hope and despair. I have become aware only of my own human frailty and limits, so that my perception of the situation has become distorted and contracted.

With two faithful Christians, however, my fantasies can be checked by the other person; I can be held accountable, and I become aware of other resources that are available to me. And when those two or more are gathered as the body of Christ, then I become aware also of my connection to other brothers and sisters in Christ, and the resou4rces that God has given to me in them. Then all kinds of possibilities open up before me - there are others I can lean on, and they can help me to discern the movement of the Spirit in all that is happening. And THAT is where Jesus' saying becomes meaningful. As we gather and search for God's will, as we recall what he has given us and open up the possibilities he lays before us - along with other believers - as we come before him as his gathered people, opening our hearts to him, offering him our resources, putting ourselves at his disposal - he speaks to us, and gives us whatever we need. We have learned to ask within his will - so he delivers. Always.

We have a God, Jesus is saying, who can be trusted, who is true to himself and to us. He has given us the power to act on the authority of his promises. If someone comes to him needing forgiveness, we can declare it to them, and they can believe that it is given. If a person's heart, on the other hand, is unrepentant and cold, we can declare what God says, that they are not forgiven, and God will back up His Word. If we discern the Spirit of God's movement, as God's people, and declare it, God will add His "Amen" to what we do. That is the authority under which I preach. And it is also true of our prayers. If God's people gather to seek His will and ask in accordance with it, He will supply whatever we need to accomplish it. He backs up His Word. That is the power of two.

This morning, you might want to stop and think about how you do things - do you attempt to live by your own power alone? That is not a recipe for success. Is religion, to you, just a private thing - just between you and God? Do you worship here, unaware of the others around you, not sharing yourself, not offering yourself to others - your friendship, your hand, your smile, your gifts and resources? Then you've missed half of the gospel, and haven't really heard Jesus' call to follow him.

Jesus has called us into fellowship - into one body. He calls us to offer ourselves not only to him, but to one another. He calls us to share our joys and sorrows, to bear one another's burdens, to minister to one another in his name, encouraging and strengthening one another in faith. He calls us to proclaim forgiveness to one another, and to bind the forces of Satan in our world. We can't do that alone - we can only do that together. And he calls us to support one another in our prayers, to seek out his will for one another, and to ask for his gifts. If his people gather, and call on him, asking these things in his name, he will give us whatever we ask. The promise isn't for one, but for two. That is the power of two.