Meditation:
 “Abide”
John uses this word to describe the relationship between the believer and Christ. In his gospel, John uses the metaphor of vine and branches. The theme of abiding runs through all of John’s writing.
Remain, abide - in Christ! That mystical connection is made real in the physical act of Holy Baptism. We are baptized in Christ Jesus - this is an organic union. We are indeed the body of Christ.
As a seminary student I took courses at at Catholic seminary. The title of the course was: “The Church, the Sacrament of Christ, our Savior.” This was an in-depth study of the Vatican II documents which moved from a hierarchical system to a partnership with laity - a radical step for Rome in the 1960’s.
As we abide in Christ and Christ abides in us we participate in God’s work. It is indeed God’s work using our hands.
As ‘sacrament’ the Church is called to be broken for the world as Christ was broken for the world, to poured out for the sake of the world as Christ poured himself out for the sake of the world.
We abide in Christ at Holy Communion and Christ abides in us and we become ‘sacrament’ in this action!
We are reminded during the Lenten Season for this powerful connection between ourselves and Christ.
Abide in Christ to do God’s work. |
