8 November 2006

The body of Christ and the sacraments as looked at by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Sacraments exist only because there is the body of Christ. There they begin and end. The word of proclamation alone is not sufficient to bring us into community with the body of Jesus Christ; the sacrament is necessary too. Baptism incorporates us as members into the unity of the body of Christ. The Lord's Supper keeps us in the community with Christ's body.

So, we are the body of Christ. Now what!?! Well, we look for the definition of our life to the sacraments. Here, in the visible and the concrete we are reminded of the life that comes from the word and is that which becomes a physical expression of that word. The body of Christ is always to be present in the world in the shape of gracious life of Jesus. The sacraments pull us into moments of remembrance so that we - as the body - become for the world the present incarnation of that gracious life. Every time we are witnesses to a baptism, we are reminded of the life into which we have been drawn and the death through which we will walk as that life is among us in flesh and blood. In addition, each week we come forward to receive the meal we can look around and see that as we all approach the table for the meal, we are participating in an "altar call" in which the Lord is really present and available for the transformation of our lives. The me becomes the wonder of the we of the body of Christ. Just look around - the baptized...together...being fed for the life into which Jesus calls us.

Connection: The body of Christ is meant to call us into a particular walk within our individual lives today - a walk that takes place within the wider vision of the whole body. Today, we are reminded to be the part that we are - nothing more.

There are so many ways that we can feel overwhelmed, O God. And yet, you never fail to call us the body of your Beloved, Jesus. Within that gracious welcome, you help us enter into our vulnerability so that even when we are overwhelmed, we will be reminded that we are never left to be alone. We give you thanks, O God. Amen.