10 November 2006

The week draws to an end with another reflection on Dietrich Bonhoeffer's thoughts on the Body of Christ in "Discipleship."

The body of Jesus Christ is identical with the new humanity which he has assumed. The body of Christ is his church-community. Jesus Christ at the same time is himself and his church-community (1 Corinthians 12:12). Since Pentecost Jesus Christ lives here on earth in the form of his body, the church-community. Here is his body crucified and risen, here is the humanity he assumed. To be baptized therefore means to become a member of the church-community, a member of the body of Christ (Galatians 3:28; 1 Corinthians 12:13). To be in Christ means to be in the church-community. But if we are in the church-community, then we are also truly and bodily in Jesus Christ. this insight reveals the full richness of meaning contained in the concept of the body of Christ.

In this excerpt, there is a German word that means "church-community." From that point on, the church is never quite used the same. It always has the longer form - "church-community." As I read it, I thought of the local congregation. I thought of the community in which I am a follower of Jesus. There is the genesis of the life that is in Christ. There are the people with whom the body of Christ comes alive for me. There is the mixture of humanity. We are the ones for whom the Lord is crucified and is raised to new life. We are the ones who are given the gifts of the Holy Spirit so that the Christ will be among us and through us and we will be in Christ. I don't find that this is meant to pressure us into acting a certain way as if we can only be a part of the body of Christ if we do this or that. Rather, as we are the body of Christ, that body is alive even now in the midst of us. That makes the present and the future a bit more interesting and surprising. The resurrection of our Lord is always a part of what is possible among us. When that is the case, we can expect to see the Christ among us for there is nothing (not even the community or individuals in it) that will preclude the living presence of Jesus among us. In such a church-community, we need only look around and see how there are so many faces and lives that make up this body of Christ. As we appreciate that, we all become enriched by one another's presence.

Connection: Sometimes it can be very difficult to see the Christ in others. Then again, the person next to me may be saying the same thing as s/he looks at me. One way to experience the day with a different flavor may be to imagine how many people it takes to bring the face of the Christ into our lives and then imagine how many people it takes to be the body of Christ. It may be the simple "two or three" that are gathered. Look around and enter the day of the Lord.

Within the church-community, O God, you plant us among your saints so that we will all gather in the name of your beloved, Jesus. Among us make the body of Christ a fellowship of peace and reconciliation and loving-kindness, mercy and justice. We know that we each may not be all of that within our own lives. But we know that you do not leave your communities of faith without such witness so that we will always have the opportunity to see the body of Christ alive. Keep us mindful of your gift of resurrected life. Amen.