Two
strangers meet on an airplane and strike up a conversation.
They are delighted to discover that they are both Christians
and members of the Reformed Church. Not only that, they both
belong to the Faithfully Reformed branch of the Reformed Church.
But to what side of the Faithfully Reformed Church do they belong?
Happily, they learn both are from the United Faithfully Reformed
branch. Then one reveals he is a card-carrying, tithe-giving
member of the Jesus is Lord United Faithfully Reformed Church
denomination. His new friend is aghast! He belongs to the Jesus
is King United Faithfully Reformed Church denomination. “Splitter!”
they both cry and refuse to speak to each other for the rest
of the trip.
With all we have to unite us, we still find ways to create
division. It is an age-old question: Do we focus on what sets
us apart, or what holds us together?
Kerygma’s newest study: The Gospel of Matthew: God
With Us by Robert Bryant takes us to the heart of that
same controversy in the Church of the first century. While it
may be understandable that we would assume the same divisions
between religions as they exist today, it is clear in this Gospel
that the first evangelist and the new Christian community saw
themselves first as part of Judaism, not separate from it. This
community—like the Gospel writer who addresses it—was
the most “Jewish” among the gospel communities.
However, one distinguishing feature of the Gospel According
to Matthew is its use of the Greek term ekklesia, which we translate
as “church” when describing that community. Ekklesia
means an “assembly of ones who are called out,”
and it conveys nothing of the static conception of the word
“church” held by many today. Matthew is the only
Gospel to use this term, and both times it comes from the lips
of Jesus. The Church is so important to Matthew that he describes
the nature and purpose of the Messiah’s new community
throughout the Gospel, and two full chapters are devoted to
teachings of Jesus that are specifically aimed at guiding the
community of faith in its life and service.
According to Matthew, the Church is an earthly manifestation
of the kingdom of God, comprised of Jesus’ followers who
have been called out to live righteously in the world and to
serve in the manner of the Christ with deep humility and unfathomable
forgiveness. In Jesus there is a new community at work for the
blessing of the world. What is it that keeps us together? Jesus—God
With Us. |
