We Are The Church

In the Old Testament, God chose a people, Israel, as his own people and as the center of communion with himself, intending that center to expand to the whole world, so that all people would come into communion with God. He chose Israel because of the faith of their forefather, Abraham, who believed God and was obedient. On his account, his children were blessed, and on their account, the whole world would be blessed. In the New Testament, we find this same pattern in a much greater form: the God made man, Jesus Christ, forms the new people of God, the Church, on the faith of a new Abraham figure, Peter.

 In response to Jesus’ question to the disciples about his identity, St. Peter said: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Jesus responded by acknowledging first of all that Peter’s response was an act of faith which itself was a gift from heaven, then by appointing him as the rock (which is what the name “Peter,” kepa in Aramaic, means) on which he will build his church. The Church, the new Israel, is built on the faith of Peter and the apostles, and is appointed as the central place for communion with God, the communion which all people inherently desire and which the Church is charged with spreading. 

   It is this life which our Lord, through his holy Church, gave us: a life of communion with God and one another. It is this communion which is our rock in life. So long as we are united with Christ in faith, trusting in his goodness to take care of us, his mercy to forgive us, and his love to console us, and we seek to strengthen our relationships with the people God has given us, other things are of much less importance. For example, it would be nice to be a person of great prestige, but quite worthless if it’s accompanied by a dreadful loneliness; suddenly, the prestige matters very little. When we receive the Qurbana, our Lord unites us to himself and to all who belong to him so that we continuously live for something, and specifically, Someone, beyond ourselves. The worst crime we could commit against ourselves, not to mention against others and especially God, would be to rob ourselves from Him and others because of some selfish desires; it would be a sin of self-ruin. 

Rather, as we enter the Season of the Church, let’s remember that we are the Church, which means we belong to God and one another, and seek daily to strengthen our communion through the Sacraments, through fervent prayer, and by embodying the love which Christ showed us on the Cross.