Dear Class,
In the reading for this week I was especially interested in
Rausch’s Chapter on “Metaphors and Models of Church”. In Rausch’s section on
ekklesia he speaks in a beautiful way about the mission of the Church. “The
mission of the Church is that of Christ, to reveal God’s love through Word and
sacrament and to be itself a sacrament or instrument of communion of all people
with God and with one another” (Rausch 46). I was struck by the mission of the
Church acting as “sacrament” between all
people and God, and all people “with one another”. I found this to be a very
powerful description of how we are called to treat one another as Church. I
found myself reflecting on what it means for me as a member of Church to live in
a sacramental way so that I can bring myself and others into fullness of life
with God and with others. What does this mean? I think it means seeing the
dignity and value of others and working to let others recognize the dignity in
all human beings. I think that is just one example of how we can live in a
sacramental way as Church. What do you think other examples are of how we can
live out this mission of being sacrament?
We are also called according to Rausch to be an “instrument
of communion”, we are called as Church to bring people together with one
another and with God. Later on, Rausch
expands on this in his section, “People of God”. He says, “Salvation was always
communal, not individualistic” (50). We are called to bring one another
together in communion because that is what our salvation is about, living in
communion with one another and bringing one another closer to God and the
fullness of life through our worship as Church.
One last part of Rausch’s chapter that I was drawn to in
this same section on the Church as “People of God” was this quote which sums up
my belief on what Church is about: “The prophets never tired of reminding
Israel of the inseparability of justice and worship” (50). This is very
powerful and very true for me. Our actions must always be in line with our
belief and the Jesus we meet in the Gospels is someone who cares very deeply
about justice. I think one group that really exemplifies this description of
Church is the Catholic Worker Community here in New Orleans. I have attached a
link to their website! Can you think of other communities that exemplify your
favorite metaphor of Church?
