Texts:
1. 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a – Nathan condemns David
2. Psalm 51:1-12 – Prayer for cleansing and pardon
3. Ephesians 4:1-16 – Unity in the Body of Christ
4. John 6:24-35 – the bread from heaven
We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about … but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ …
Today in these living words from Holy Scripture St Paul challenges all those who dare to confess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour to put aside childish ways, to put aside the petulance and churlishness, the tears and the tantrums, the brattish self-centredness that can all to often dominate the lives of adults, (particularly adults under stress) … he challenges us to put aside such childish behaviour for the maturity, the measure of the full stature of Christ that has been endowed to us by virtue of our baptism and membership of the Christian family.
In Ephesians, Paul emphasises the central place of Christ in the plan of God and in the life of the Christian believer. Jesus is the one on whom the Father has set his seal. Jesus is the bread of life. Jesus satisfies our hunger and quenches our thirst. All that is required of us is faith, the belief that this is indeed so.
Faith never comes easy. There are many things that can whittle away a person’s faith. The early Christian communities to whom St Paul wrote were constantly battling with issues of faith and belief, which is why Paul pleads with the Ephesians, “You must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.” Rather, he exhorts this community to, “grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.”
While acknowledging the variety of gifts possessed by members of the Christian community, Paul pleads for unity of faith, unity of belief, unity of vision, unity of purpose, unity of mission. United, the Christian community will stand, divided the Christian community will struggle and perhaps fall.
Today, we are being reminded of our need to, “lead a life worthy of the calling to which we have been called.” Today, we are being reminded of our duty to build up the body of Christ, with its many and varied members, through our unity of faith in the Son of God, in Jesus Christ. If we fail in this task the consequences could be quite drastic.
I was at the football yesterday watching the Doggies, third on the ladder, playing Fremantle who are currently second last. In the third quarter I saw for myself what can happen when there is a lack of unity amongst members of a team. Fremantle came out after half time with unity of purpose and a hunger for the ball. The Doggies came out, I think, a little bit cocky. Perhaps they were thinking they had the game all sewn up? Their complacency was obvious and Fremantle took advantage, firing off several goals in quick succession. The Dogs were struggling. They had become like children tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind. They seemed to be working as individuals and it looked as if, for a short while anyway, that they had forgotten about the drills, the set plays, the rehearsed strategies … all those sure things, those foundational beliefs, that lend strength to a team.
As we know, in football and in other team sports, each player has a distinct role, but no one player is bigger than the team. When all the individual players remember that their combined roles give strength to the team, then the team will experience a greater rate of success.
We are members of a team. We are members of the Body of Christ. Christ is the head, and depending on the gifts given to us we are the fingers or toes, the hands or feet, the ears or eyes or nose or teeth or tongue or muscles or tendons, or cells or vessels. We are one or the other of those fantastically unique and essential parts that must work together in unity for the greater good of the whole. As all of us would know, when one or the other of these parts fail, the body fails also.
We know that bodies need to be kept healthy. A body that stands still, that doesn’t exercise becomes fat and moribund, slow and sluggish. A body needs to move, to exercise, to keep alert, to be aware of the health and vitality of its different members. A body needs to be fed and to be nurtured, to be rested and respected if it is to achieve all that it is capable of.
As the Body of Christ in this place I don’t believe that we are achieving all that we are capable of.
What has happened to our body? Perhaps we might be suffering through lack of exercise (are we keeping abreast with what is happening in the Church, in fresh ideas and ways of doing things, do we read, study, enquire, discuss, participate in groups or programmes). Perhaps we might be suffering through complacency (someone else will support us, will bale us out, will make the hard decisions for us, I’ve done my bit for the Church, it’s no longer my problem). Perhaps we are experiencing some form of denial (it’s not really that bad … things will get better we just have to sit tight and stick to the things we’ve always done). Perhaps we are suffering because of an inability or maybe an unwillingness to ingest the right sort of nutrients and our body is tired and worn out as a result (how often do we pray, do we meditate, read our scriptures, come along to Mass other than on a Sunday?) Are we listening to our head? Remember our head is Christ. What is Christ saying to us now in our present circumstances? When we look around at our buildings in a state of decay, what is Christ saying to us? When we bemoan our empty pews, what is Christ saying to us? When we become stressed over our financial circumstances, what is Christ saying to us? Are we prepared to listen? Are we going to behave like children tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind? Or are we going to behave like mature adults, using our gifts (whatever they may be) to equip the saints for ministry in the 21st century and to build up the body of Christ here and now?
As members of the Body of Christ our task, until the day we die, is to love, to be humble, to be gentle, to be patient and to be peaceful. But above all, as members of the Body of Christ we are called to unity. We must pull together as a team. While the world around us is tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, when the certainties of the past crumble and disintegrate before our very eyes there is one thing that we can rely upon, that is, our common purpose as Christians, which we will find in our belief in one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
This is the belief that we have to share with all of those people beyond these Church doors. This belief is the foundation upon which we must seek to re-build our body here in this place.
In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
No comments:
Post a Comment