“Now in
Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of
Christ. For he is our peace, who has made us both one...”
(Ephesians 2:13-14)
This passage
from Saint Paul’s letter to the Ephesians speaks to a most profound mystery.
Namely that
whatever happened in Galilee and Judea 2,000 years ago is still happening.
Indeed it
has been happening from before all ages, but it is in the womb of Mary that this reality is first made
fully manifest…
“The Word has become flesh, and dwells
among us.”
In the
person of Jesus Christ, the very Word of God - the
expression of God’s Self, has become a
human being (located in space and
time).
Thus the
Infinite God who transcends
all space and time has become known to us, not in a blinding flash but as a
frail human being.
As a mother
giving birth and a baby whose eyes shown with the redemption of the human race,
as a young
man who knew that he was called to abide in the House of his Father, always -
even at the expense of being separated from those who loved him…
and as a
craftsman-turned-Rabbi whose Message of Truth and Eternal Life could not be silenced even by death.
But my
friends, the Event of the Incarnation did not end with the Resurrection and Ascension
of Jesus Christ. For us, that was only a beginning.
From the
Right Hand of the Father and the place where Christ is, the Holy Spirit is poured
out upon us – making us one with
the Glorified Christ and therefore participants
in the Incarnation.
Jesus himself tells
us in the Gospel According to John:
“Those who
eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in them.”
In a few
moments, after offering our up our prayers and the gifts of human hands, we
will be nourished by the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ (made manifest once more). In this Holy act of Communion we who have
gathered in this place from across world are made one with the Living Christ –
the eternally beloved Child of God.
As the Word of God has been made manifest in
the Flesh and Blood of a human being, so now are we creatures of flesh and blood
united to his life by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Nourished by the sacrament of Bread and Wine
and having been one-ed to Christ, we who bear his Spirit have become his Body -- It is his Blood that flows through each of us according to the rhythms of
his loving heart.
But Beloved, as we become Christ’s very Flesh and Blood,
discern for yourselves what it is exactly that you are signing up for. As the
Prayer Book says, we come to this table “not
for solace only, but for strength.”
If we are to learn anything from the ministry of Jesus the
Christ it is this:
“God is Love… and the Love
that God is does not sit idle for very long.”
By uniting ourselves to the Living Christ, we are being united to that Revelation of Divine
Love.
Love which bring forth things from no-thing.
Love which brings the dust of the Earth to life.
Love which became Incarnate in the Virgin Mary, and was made man.
We who are Christ’s
Flesh and Blood (if we take that vocation seriously) are called to manifest the
Love of God as he does.
We are called to look upon every single human being as God
does: Beloved Children made in the Divine Image.
Even when that Image seems obscured from our vantage point,
we are called to love them all the same, as Christ Loved us… because
their flesh is our flesh, and their blood is ours....
When a young man is chained to a fence, beaten, and left for
dead because of his sexuality... our flesh must show bruises and cuts.
When a woman’s story of abuse goes unheard… our cheeks must
be wet with her tears.
When a gunman enters a synagogue, full of hatred and
murderous intent… we must be ready to stand in the line of fire.
In Christ Jesus, the Infinite Love of God was forever united
to Humanity
in flesh and in blood.
We who have been gathered here to be united to Christ and
study his word share in Christ’s vocation.
Wherever we might be sent when we leave this place, we are
called bear the Divine Image of Love – to be the hands and feet of Christ in
the world and unite ourselves to the broken and the outcast as he did– that these too might know
that they are the Beloved Sons and Daughters of the Ever Living God.
As Christ’s own Flesh and Blood, he will never leave us…
and he will never let us go.
and he will never let us go.
