These days, I frequently attend an amazing congregation in Cleveland known as the Community of Saint Peter's. I have written many times about my experiences with that faith community and the splendid liturgy they offer week after week. Yesterday, I was reminded again why I enjoy the service so intensely. One reason is that their Sunday bulletin is very well done - simple - no clutter! Plus, the leaflet always concludes with a reflection usually centered around the Scripture lessons and the core teaching of Robert Marone's sermon. Here was yesterday's reflection.
Love One Another - Brian
"One of the early Christian heresies rejected by orthodox theologians was the gnostic idea that God's spirit only used the body of Jesus and that Christ only seemed to die, as if God only appeared to become human. 'And became truly human' is a contemporary translation of the line - 'and became man' - in the Nicene Creed that sought to condemn this form of gnostic belief often called Docetism.
"The resurrection accounts speak of his pierced hands, side and feet; for Christ's body is both whole and broken. Here we see how Christianity has taken the Jewish belief of the goodness of the created body and built upon it the doctrine of the incarnation of God in Christ.
"The source of the liturgical handshake of peace is a resurrection story in John 20 about the wounds of Christ. Our greeting, 'The Peace of Christ be with you,' is more than a pleasant 'Good Morning,' and ought not deteriorate into one. Rather, in this ritual we as the body of Christ embody the resurrection. Joining with the disciples hiding in the locked room, we are recreated into the body of Christ, and we touch the wounds of the crucified one.
"Passing the peace is a sign of the Spirit of the risen Christ, conveyed from one baptized person to another in a room deeply marked by the wounds of the world. Just as the human body of Jesus once contained the Spirit of God, now the corporate body of the church is the embodiment of the divine Spirit, 'the body of Christ.' The Spirit does not only blow about unseen and free, it also is embodied in and by the community of the baptized." (Gail Ranshaw, Treasures Old and New)
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