Weekly Update

"Taste and see that the Lord is good; Happy are all who find refuge in God."

In the past few weeks on our journey as an ecumenical congregation, God has brought us words on tasting and seeing (through the words of Tripp and Jane, respectively). These are appeals to our senses. These exhortations are metaphorical or, perhaps better, anological uses of language. That is to say that tasting and seeing aren't simply about biology, simple hedonistic enjoyment. Rather, tasting and seeing (our biology) participate in a deeper broader reality.

When Jesus in this week's Gospel calls us to come and see, he calls us to see with our eyes, yes; but also with another sight. Simply seeing did not answer all the questions. John saw and still comes back after his arrest asking Jesus if he is the one or not.

"He who has ears to hear."

We all have tongues and noses, ears and eyes, but our call as believers in Christ, as those baptized into the body of Christ, is to hone our senses-- to discipline our bodies that we may truely taste and see and hear. That our bodies would in truth participate in that reality, which is the medium of our existence. So that our bodies may fully participate in the reality of the Kingdom of God.

Similarly, as we write our consititution and register as a not-for-profit religious corporation in the State of Illinois, we are called to look into the larger realities. Our constitution and our legal status are not simply secular things of the World. That is, we are to seek in these things how the law and institution are expressions of, participations in the ordered reality God intends. Reconciler exists because we believe that the unity of the church is hindered as long as we remain in our separate institutions and denominations. The unity that is the reality of the One Church, must be expressed and visible.

As we move rapidly towards Lent our 5:30 gathering time will be devoted to seeking God in prayer. Durring Lent we will be using that time for a series on what it means for us to be an ecumenical congregation.

All that we do needs to be oriented towards seeking to live into the actual reality that God is calling us into as this particular congregation. We do not seek some "spiritualized" unity of Christians, as if taste, sight, bodies and institutions do not share in the reality of the kingdom. Rather we understand that all is to be redeemed and to be brought into subjection to Christ; all is to show forth the Glory of God. If in our denominations and institutions the "bodily" aspect of the church fails to show forth the glory of God, it is not necessarily because those things are evil; perhaps it is because we as Christians have failed to see how they participate in the fullness of God.

May the Peace of God, be with you now and always. Amen

Pastoral Team