What is Our Function?
Matthew 21:33-46
The contours of our lives can be shaped by our desire to know Christ, as we pursue what we know to be the function of our lives—to know Christ and the power of his Resurrection.
We can get so caught up with the form of our lives, of our church, that we forget the function. Outer form may be all important. This was the case of St. Paul until, for Christ’s sake, he suffered the loss of all things.
The outward forms of Paul’s life were not in service to his new function in Christ, and thus he considered them as loss. New wines require new wineskins, new forms.
We now live in what some call “the age of authenticity” in which people look inward to find their truth, with concomitant distrust of inherited institutions.
This is a liminal, threshold moment for Christ Church. We seek to discern God’s calling in our lives together, our function, in the days and years to come.
We will soon have an all parish retreat to discern our function and mission. We have the opportunity to let go of old forms, reckless in our love, so that new life might spring eternal.
Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
