It’s About People

The Apostle Paul often wrote about the church as the Body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12, he puts it this way:

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

What a great way to think about the church! Many people, when they think about church, think of it as a building, or a pastor, or an institution. But Paul says No, no, that’s not it. The church, in some mystical way, is Christ’s body. Jesus raised from the dead. Jesus alive. His body, his work, his ministry – here on earth today – in us!

I remember at a previous church, one of our preschool teachers and her husband lost their son who was just a few days old. He was born with a tumor on his neck. And I remember going over to their house and sitting with them. When I showed up, for the longest time, they didn’t want to talk. I asked if she wanted me to leave and she said, “No. Please stay.” So we sat. She and her husband wept. And we sat. I asked if she wanted me to pray. And she said, “Right now I can’t pray. I can’t have faith. But you can pray for me. The church can pray for me. They can hold my faith for me…”

And we did… We held onto her faith for her. We prayed for her until she was again able to pray for herself. We had faith for her until she was able to come back and hold it for herself.

Some of my friends say they don’t go to church because they struggle with the idea of the church as an institution. So do I. But at its heart, that’s not who we are. Its people. The church is organic and alive. It is you and me, and our lives joined to the lives of other people. When we get it right, it can be beautiful, life-giving, and even sustaining.

Let us pray: God of Grace, we thank you for the people in our lives who have walked with us through the ups and downs, the joys and sorrows of life. I pray today especially for those who feel all alone. Draw near to those who need you near. And use each of us, even as we ourselves are being healed, as your hands, heart, and feet – together your body, through Christ our Lord. Amen.