Being the body of Christ
today means engaging in life-giving relationships with others and with creation.
the inherent dignity of every person who is created in God’s image and for whom Jesus Christ died, without any exceptions. The apostolic imperative means we view every human being as someone precious to God, whose human rights are worth defending for Jesus’ sake (Matthew 11:28-30).
The apostolic imperative means we view
every human being as someone precious to
God, whose human rights are worth defending for Jesus’ sake.
who we are as people. The Nicene Creed names four
characteristics by which the church is known: one, holy, catholic, apostolic. Normally when we make reference to these marks we think exclusively about the internal constitution of the church. These marks have been understood as ways the church is called to be true to its identity, for example ecumenical engagement as a sign of unity, church discipline as a sign of holiness, relating to other churches across time and space as a sign of catholicity, and faithful- ness to biblical tradition as a sign of apostolicity. But the world needs these marks
of the church to be lived out both internally and externally—for the sake of our neighbors in the world. What would it mean to turn these ancient marks of the church inside out? Suddenly the character of the body of Christ takes on new vitality for the life of the world.
Oneness as a distinguishing char-
acter mark of the church comes to expression as the body of Christ gives itself to serve as a force for reconciliation and peacemaking in a world where estrangement and violence threaten to destroy the fab- ric of human community. Being the body of Christ means praying, learn- ing and embodying “the things that make for peace” (Luke 19:42). Holiness as a character mark of
the church means engagement by the body of Christ in the work of social justice. Social holiness, following in the way of Jesus, entails feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, casting out evil spirits, radical hospitality to strangers, giving shelter to the home- less and visiting prisoners (Matthew 25:31-40). Catholicity, as a character mark
urgent ly needed in our times, involves the apprehension that human beings are made of the self- same stuff as all the rest of God’s creation. Human destiny is entirely dependent on the wellness of cre- ation. Earth, water and sky, all flora and fauna, are also neighbors God has given us to love in the spirit of the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:34-40). Apostolicity as a character mark
summons the body of Christ to vigi- lance in respecting and defending
What does this mean? Together these four marks, which distinguish the character of Jesus Christ existing as community, con- stitute what it means for the body of Christ to be a “shalom church” for the sake of others in our nonreligious world. This is the church for which the world is dying. This is the char- acter of the body of Christ for which a new generation is yearning, “a car- ing church that longs to be a part- ner in Christ’s sacrifice, and clothed in Christ’s humanity” (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, 729). Being the body of Christ today
means engaging in life-giving rela- tionships with others and with cre- ation as shalom church, embodying these character marks of the collec- tive person Jesus Christ for the life of the world. As in generations before us, today
we are called to this great work: “to equip the saints for the work of min- istry, for building up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12).
Author bio:
Nessan is academic dean at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, and author of Shalom Church: The Body of Christ as Ministering Community (Fortress Press, 2010).
June 2015 15
ADAM BIRD
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