The forgotten Christ: the Church
Some time ago, a fellow church member approached me with a decision he had made: to leave our congregation and join another one near his home where he felt more comfortable.
As he explained his choice, I realized that something important was missing in his discernment process.
I asked him if he had shared his struggles and wounds with those who knew him best in the church, if he had sought spiritual discernment within the community of believers.
His response revealed a fundamental disconnect between his faith and the biblical conviction he had about the church.
This brother had prayed like someone who believes in the existence of a "god," but he hadn't prayed like a Christian.
Why do I say this?
Because praying to God as a Christian means that the church can respond for God.
This, although it may sound scandalous, is what the Bible teaches about the community of believers.
In simple terms: the church is the incarnation of God on Earth. The church is the forgotten Christ.
The way we advance the reign of God on Earth is through incarnation.
We need to continue being the presence of Christ on Earth; that's why we are His body.
As Teresa of Ávila, a Catholic mystic from the 16th century, once said:
Christ has no body now but yours.
No hands, no feet on earth but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which He looks with compassion on this world.
Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good.
Yours are the hands through which He blesses all the world.
What does this mean in practice?
It means that when we seek divine guidance, we often find it in the community of believers around us, i.e., the church.
Instead of solely focusing on individual discernment, we should value the discernment of the community of believers regarding our personal decisions.
We can see this in the biblical story of Luke 8:42b-48. In this story, a woman suffering from hemorrhages approached Jesus and, upon touching the edge of His cloak, was healed.
42b Jesus went on His way, and the crowds pressed in on Him. 43 In the crowd was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years, and she could not be healed by anyone. 44 She came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped.
45 "Who touched me?" Jesus asked.
As all denied it, Peter said:
"Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you."
46 But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; for I noticed that power had gone out from me."
47 When the woman saw that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling and falling down before Him. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched Him and how she had been immediately healed.
48 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace."
The physical presence of Jesus, His body, in people's lives was a source of healing and salvation.
Two lessons from this story
1. Staying in touch with the body heals us:
Just as the woman found healing by touching Jesus, we experience the same by staying in constant contact with the body of Christ, which is the church.
The community of believers can offer support, advice, and discernment in our moments of spiritual need.
As Ronald Rolheiser, a Jesuit monk, expressed (paraphrasis):
You can't have a relationship with a perfect God, full of love and forgiveness in heaven if you can't have a relationship with the church here on earth, which is less perfect, forgives less, and is less understanding.
2. We as a body are instruments of healing and salvation:
Just as Jesus' body had the power to heal and save, we, as His body on Earth, must touch others with love and compassion.
We shouldn't limit ourselves to praying for divine help but should be the hands and feet of Christ in action.
As expressed by John:
"Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen"
(1 John 4:20).
All of this helps us understand that living our faith as Christians means living our spirituality within the church and as a church because she, imperfect and redeemed, is Christ on Earth.
Jesus has many skins, faces, hands, voices, arms to heal and save His church and the world.
Which part of His body will you be?
