“Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” Matthew 26:26-28
Whenever I repeat the liturgy at communion that mirrors these words of the Gospel, I am reminded that, as the Church, we are called to be the body and blood of Christ poured out for the world.
This is a call to look beyond our walls, outside the structures and the bureaucracies of our institution, and to see the real lives of real people. This means really seeing the struggle of the single mother or father living in poverty. This means really seeing the struggle of a teenage boy or girl trying to discover identity. This means really seeing the struggle of a veteran returning from a war about which he or she cannot speak. This is a call to really see all of those for whom Christ has called and empowered the Church to be a vehicle for the reclamation of meaning, the discovery of connection, the redemption of value and worth—a vehicle for grace, justice, and love.
To be this church, we must first claim our identity as a Wesleyan body that is Spirit-filled, Spirit-guided, and undergirded by spiritual practices that deepen our love for God. That means steeping ourselves in prayer, worship, fasting, and giving. That means drinking from the deep wells of Scripture and seeking out the companionship and nurture that comes from fellowship.
It also means building within our denomination’s culture the capacity to adapt and thrive. This is beyond simply devising new techniques for church growth. Those are all good for their time, but time is ever fleeting. The techniques we employ today will be obsolete to the situations of tomorrow.
We must, therefore, build within our leadership the capacity to innovate. We must create a culture of creativity and of excellence. We must seek the spiritual grounding that it will take to sense the creative movement of the Spirit and to join in the Spirit’s work.
We also must reclaim our Wesleyan identity as a community of grace that reaches across boundaries and breaks down dividing walls, (Eph. 2:14). Our ability to do this across differences of race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, social class, ideology, and ability is a powerful witness to the world of what it means to be the Church. It also is absolutely necessary to evangelism for a worldwide church that serves in contexts that are increasingly globalized and diverse.
Indeed, the world is watching the Church. Are we really a living and vital community of grace? Are we really a source of transformation, justice, redemption and second chances? Or are we just a dying sect to be known by stories of decline, or by our judgments, our conflicts and our quadrennial fights?
No! We must show ourselves to be the community of grace, justice, redemption and reconciliation we claim to be. We must show ourselves to be the body of Christ as deep in our spiritual grounding and practice as we are wide in our mission to love.
I envision our worldwide United Methodist Church as just such a church as we grow in our commitment to open ourselves to the transforming winds of the Spirit. I envision our United Methodist Church as a Spirit-filled body that pours itself out as Christ did for the redemption of the world. This is the Church that I serve with joy and with passion. This is the Church for which I have hope.
Kennetha J. Bigham-Tsai
banner image courtesy James Loesch / CC