The Gathered Church (Mid-week)

Fr. Tony’s Mid-week Message

October 21, 2015

The Gathered Church

One of my favorite hymns (# 302 in the 1982 Hymnal) is taken from a very ancient Eucharistic Prayer found in the Didache, or the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, written about the year 90 C.E.:

“Father, we thank Thee Who has planted
Thy holy name within our hearts.
Knowledge and faith and life immortal
Jesus Thy Son to us imparts.
Thou, Lord, didst make all for Thy pleasure,
Didst give us food for all our days,
Giving in Christ the bread eternal;
Thine is the pow'r, be Thine the praise.

Watch o'er Thy Church, O Lord, in mercy,
Save it from evil, guard it still,
Perfect it in love, unite it,
Cleansed and conformed unto Thy will.
As grain, once scattered on the hillsides,
Was in this broken bread made one,
So from all lands Thy church be gathered
Into Thy kingdom by Thy Son.”

The hymn gives a glimpse into the life of the Church at that early time:  the broken bread, one loaf from many grains, is seen as a symbol of the church, a single possession of God drawn together from many different kinds of people.  God is the one who draws the diverse church together, planting the name and teaching of Jesus in our hearts.   

When I as in Beijing serving in the interdenominational Congregation of the Good Shepherd, I was struck by how different Christians talked about Church.  “God, bless our church,” the Mennonites, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Baptists would generally say, where Episcopalians, Anglicans, Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholics would prefer “God, bless your Church.”  In the older view, the Church is a creation of God rather than an assembly of like-minded people.  The Church belongs to God.  In classic imagery, the church is Christ’s bride.  It is bigger and wider and deeper than the local congregation.  We are the Church, not consumers served by the Church.

This difference in viewpoint explains why the recitation of the Nicene Creed is an important part of our Eucharistic celebrations:  we have the intention to link our faith with what has been believed by all believers in all places and at all times. 

The Didache lets it theology of the Church teach us about what our attitude should be toward our possessions: “Share all things with your brother or sister; and do not say that they are your own. If you are sharers in what is imperishable, how much more in things which perish.”  Stewardship for the Didache is rooted in the view that we are part of the mystical body of Christ and the fellowship of all faithful people:  because in church we share eternal mystery with each other, we should share our material possessions all the more. 

Grace and Peace,

Fr. Tony+