Dear Church,
It was deeply meaningful to me to be able to actually join you for worship this past Sunday. Even with all the restrictions we need to put in place, there was a sense of holiness and beauty about the Body of Christ gathering to worship. It made me realize the gravity of what we’ve been missing these past 5 months of worshiping on Zoom.
As the Church, we aren’t just a random collection of individual Christians who find worship “helpful” (or not) for our private spiritual lives. As the Church, we are actually a spiritually connected organism: the Body of Christ, and so our life with God is intricately linked to our life with each other, which is intricately linked to our encounter with Jesus in Word and Sacrament on Sundays.
We are the Body of Christ, but this means we are called to participate in the Body of Christ. We become the Body of Christ as we hear God’s word and commune together at the table of Jesus.
Augustine connected it this way:
If you would then live by the Spirit of Christ, be in the body of Christ… Draw near, believe; be embodied, that you may be made to live. Do not flee from close union with the members… Be a fair, fit, and sound member; cleave to the body, live for God by God.
To paraphrase Augustine, in the words I was so thankful to joyfully proclaim at the end of our Eucharistic prayers this past Sunday, holding up the Bread and Wine: “Church, behold what you are! Become what you receive!”
I’m already looking forward to becoming the Body of Christ with you this coming Sunday as we gather again to hear God’s Word proclaimed in Scripture, and receive God’s Word embodied in Bread and Wine.
In Christ,
Fr. Ben
P.S. The main way we learn to truly embody our “Body-of-Christness” together in everyday life is through the training our DNA Groups offer. We are starting a new round of DNA Groups in September, and the deadline to indicate your interest is this Sunday August 30. If you’re interested in joining us, email Mallory right now and let her know you’re interested.
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