THE CHURCH AND ITS CALLING

The Church as "Body of Christ" and "Bride of Christ" are Pauline metaphors. There are more metaphors and three of my favorites come from Jesus: Salt. Light. A grain of wheat. 

The first two come from Sunday's Gospel Reading from Matthew. The third is Johannine. We have heard so many homilies about these three. We are the salt of the earth, we give flavor to life. We are the light of the world, we push away the darkness. We are a grain of wheat, we need to bear fruit... We feel good about being salt, light, and a grain of wheat. 

We are so comfortable with these interpretations we miss what those metaphors demand from us: all require self-sacrifice; all require emptying; all require dying...

Salt dissolves. Light burns out. No seed ever sees the flower. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.  

We should never forget what Jesus commands us: "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." We should never forget what his earliest disciples remind us: "We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another." 

My friends, the church was not called to live forever. The church was called to die. 

We should never, ever, forget that we follow an Executed God. There can never be a resurrection without a crucifixion.

*art, "Shine," by Mike Moyers (from the Vanderbilt Divinity Library digital archives).

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