The Lectionary texts this week clearly define the marks of the Church for me. Paul writes to his sisters and brothers in Corinth infusing them with the theological truth that they are, in fact, the Body of Christ. He goes on to stress their unity in that very fact and continues the metaphor to explain the differences in their functions (ministries) as the particular makeup of the Body. From these gifts we receive a window into Paul's theology of the structure and marks of the Church.
Luke relates the story of Jesus returning to his hometown, Nazareth, and reading from Isaiah's messianic prophecy of what the marks of the Messiah would be in the life of the world around them. Jesus' proclamation that "the scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" establishes the theological outlook that Isaiah's descriptions are the circumstances which point to the presence of Christ in the world. For me then, these are the marks of the Body of Christ, which according to Paul is the Church! So then, it is incumbant upon us to preach this vision of the marks of the Body as self-fulfilling (or rather Spirit-fulfilling) prophecy. This is the vision Jesus gives us for what his ministry looks like, and as the Body of Christ, likewise it gives us a vision for our ministry.
The Rev. P. Lance Ousley +
St. Thomas' Episcopal Church - Wharton
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