[AI translation] The next part of the Apostles' Creed, which will now be discussed among us, reads, "I believe in one, common, Christian mother church; the unity of the saints." This is perhaps the least grateful theme in the whole of the Creed, the issue of least interest. Besides, the Church is not a very sympathetic thing today. The word church itself does not have a good ring to it, with a lot of attached connotations that make it unpleasant-sounding. I say 'church' and people's imagination conjures up images of an organisation that is losing its position, that once in the Middle Ages put kings on the throne or pushed them off, and today has less and less say in the life of the world. Or the word 'church' conjures up images of a rather outdated institution that serves the diminishing religious needs of the people. Or some well-intentioned but unpopular enterprise, whose representatives are trying to ennoble morality, but who themselves often set a very bad example. One thinks, perhaps, of the person or body of cloaked, cassocked ministers and priests and their very glaring faults. Who can list all the things that people think of when they hear the word church, from political reaction to a small white church or a pastor's office in a village? But that is not the church! All I have said so far: it is not the church! But what is it? Let us see, then, what God says in the Word we have read about the true nature of the Church!Our Word says: "By one Spirit... we have been baptised into one flesh... we have been filled with one Spirit". It is the Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, who creates and sustains the church. So, the Church does not exist because there are certain people who want it to exist, but because God Himself is the One who wants it to exist. The Church is not the result of human discernment and human determination, nor of the genius of certain outstanding individuals, nor of the instinctive enthusiasm of a crowd, such as a political party or a confederation of states, but of something God has done, and that is why there is a Church. What God has done is to appear on earth in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, to penetrate into human life, and in so doing to bridge the deep chasm of sin that separates man from God. It was through Jesus' death for sin and resurrection from the dead that God accomplished the redemption of human life. Thus our Lord gives to men eternal life, the forgiveness of sins. In Jesus He gives His own power, comfort, joy, love, blessing, victory, peace, life: Himself! This is what God has done and continues to do! And the place where people share in this redemptive action of God is the Church! The people who accept this redemptive action of God for themselves by faith are the people of the Church!
So the Church is a collection of people with whom something has happened. A mystery, an inexplicable miracle: that they have been addressed by God, addressed by God with the news of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and called by God to a communion of life with himself. It is therefore better, and more appropriate, to use the word church instead of congregation, because it gives a better sense of a human community gathered together at the call of someone. Therefore, when we say church, we should always think first of Jesus and of a concrete congregation gathered around him, such as the one that is present here in this church. So we are the church, we, as we are here together. We are together like this, not because we have come together and planned that it would be good to form some kind of church congregation, but because God wants to do something with us, here and now: he wants to speak to us, to speak into our lives, to point out our sins, to cleanse our hearts, to pour new strength into us. So: 'I believe in one, ordinary, Christian mother church' means: I believe that in this place, in this visible assembly, the work of the Holy Spirit is taking place, by which he is drawing me into salvation and thus making me a partaker of eternal life; I believe that this assembly is the occasion and opportunity given to me by God to repent of my sins, to repent and to live! So it makes sense to believe!
So says our Word: "We have all been baptised into one body...". Who are these all? The apostle goes on to say: whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free - we are all one! In today's language this means that the Church is a wonderful place where there is no difference, really no difference between one person and another. It doesn't matter if one is educated this way and that way, it doesn't matter where you come from, what family you come from, what race you are, what language you speak, what nationality, age, wealth - because everyone is the same there. The bishop sits at the Lord's table no higher than a newly confirmed girl. There is no bigger piece of bread for a university professor than for a girl who is a crow; no nicer guest for a learned theologian than for a hay-burning forest man; no bigger weight for a well-to-do celebrity who arrives in a car than for an old, disabled pensioner. The church, the congregation, is at last truly a place in this world where belonging to one another is greater and stronger than being different from one another. Here the strongest cohesive force is Jesus himself, that is, that we all belong to Christ, one Lord, one Saviour, one God, one Father. The man sitting here with you now, even if you don't know him, is your brother! He is as dear a child of the same Father as you are. This is what we say in the Apostles' Creed: "I believe in a common... mother church"! A common church is universal, general, in Greek: Catholic. A large, family community that transcends all boundaries and partitions and differences, that reaches across and bridges all distances.
And there is one Church, in fact there is only one Church in the whole world. Do not be deceived by the fact that the army of believers in Jesus is divided into many Christian denominations of all denominations, because the church is still one. A living organism, a large flock can be divided into different branches, but it is still one flock, one and the same shepherd's large flock! We too, here and now, in this gathering, are one visible piece of the one common mother church. And the greatest service of the Church in the world today is precisely to live out and make visible in as practical a reality as possible this great, cohesive family community. For the general human community is today at the point of being completely destroyed. It is a curious process: while means of transport are becoming more and more perfect, while communications are speeding up in an incredible way, so that distances between continents are almost disappearing, the human community is deteriorating almost to the same extent, with gaps widening, antagonisms growing, passions exploding against each other. What an opportunity - perhaps the only opportunity - for the salvation of the human community lies in the fact that the Gospel is preached in more than a thousand different human languages, in more than a thousand languages, in the whole world, in the confession of Jesus Christ as Lord! These who say in more than a thousand languages every day, Our Father, are all baptized by one Spirit into one flesh, watered by one Spirit! We have, then, the great fraternal and family communion which embraces the whole earth and with which the Church can be of irreplaceable help to humanity. Begin this service by getting to know the person sitting next to you, by smiling at the other member of the congregation, by showing more understanding, love and patience towards your family, by bringing more serenity, trust and service out into the world.
This, moreover, is what is meant by the expression of the practical essence of the Church in our confession of faith: 'the unity of the saints'. The members of the Church are "saints". This does not mean that they are better people than others. No! The members of the Church are just as human, that is to say, they are weak, sin-laden beings, as others. In a doctor's office, when there are a lot of people waiting, no one thinks what conceited people they are: they think they are healthier than others! In fact, sitting there waiting to see a doctor is a way of saying that you are not in good health. Well, in the same way, those who are sitting here in the congregation are expressing that there is something wrong in their lives, they are coming to the great Physician because they are hoping for help, they are waiting for healing from him. The Church is not a gathering of good people, but of sinners who turn to Jesus for help, for salvation, for strength! They are holy because the purpose and the ministry to which they are called is holy: to be renewed in Jesus and to bring the spirituality, love, joy and peace of Jesus into the world. In this endeavour, the members of the Church support, help and complement one another. We who belong to Christ can count on one another in all our problems. We have different gifts of grace. One may have physical strength, able to do hard work; another may be strong in spirit, able to give advice to those in need and to help them to overcome temptations; a third may be financially able to help someone out of their misery; some may have legal, engineering or medical skills; others may have plenty of time, time to prayerfully bring matters and problems before God. Well, no one can be stuck with what he has received from God, as if it were his private property alone, but through him it is also put into circulation for the benefit of others, becomes public property, and public benefit is derived from it. Thus one man helps another.
People often complain that no one cares about them, no one asks them what is wrong with them. Well, if you have something hurting you, some spiritual, financial or whatever problem you have, you can go in confidence to any of the brethren here in the congregation, tell them, ask for their help. Or if you know of a sick brother or sister in need somewhere, you can go to him or her and help. What right? By the right to be brothers and sisters! Because, if you belong to Christ, you are no longer lonely, you are no longer alone: you have been born into a new family, the family of God, the church. No one can live the Christian life in solitude, cut off from the fellowship of other believers, from prayer, from strengthening one another. You are not a lonely believer either, you are not alone in following Jesus, you are not fighting the good fight of faith in a partisan way, but you are part of a community where you have your place, your task, where you are needed, and where you need the prayers, faith, love and service of others. You belong to the people of God, to the body of Christ, you have been incorporated into it where Jesus has already claimed the victory. This is what the Unity of Saints says in the Creed.
You cannot, of course, be a mere spectator or a beneficiary of this communion, but at the same time an active worker. Whoever does not bring his own prayer, love, service, faith, will never experience the true blessing of the church community! For it is by working for others that you yourself will be strengthened, by comforting others you will find true comfort for yourself, by nourishing others you will find sufficient spiritual nourishment, by leading your brothers and sisters to Christ you will draw closer to Him, and by advising them you yourself will be better equipped for the world. Thus lives the one, ordinary, Christian mother Church, in the unity of the saints. Help us to receive this gift of the church community and to fulfil this task of becoming a church community!
Resting on the heart of God
Let our hearts be one,
Let the arms of our faith embrace
Our sweet Saviour!
He is our head, we are his members,
He is the light of our colors;
We are servants, He is the master,
He is ours, we are his.
(Song 395, verse 1)
Amen
Date: 28 August 1960.
Lesson
1Kor 12,12-27