Becoming Like Christ: We Belong to One Another as Part of God's Family
Wednesday, March 3
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Becoming Like Christ:
We Belong to One Another as Part of God's Family
Psalm 105:1-11; 37-45
Rev. Mark Green
As a young boy, I remember well getting my first Cub Scout uniform. I was thrilled to put on the blue and gold and be a part of the pack. Later, when playing Little League Baseball, I had a similar sensation. I got to wear the team uniform and felt a rush of pride as people noticed that I was a player on the “Red Birds” team. One more… as a trombonist in my Lumpkin County High School’s Marching Band, I got to be all decked out in the purple and gold band uniform for the parades and halftime shows. It was sheer joy.
At the heart of our humanity is a longing, a yearning if you will, to be a part of something larger than ourselves. We do this by attaching ourselves to clubs, causes, and clans. We sign up for teams, groups, choirs, guilds, unions, and organizations. We want to feel that we are a member of a significant group, a vital part of the organization, a contributing participant to the cause.
In Christ’s coming, He established the church – the ecclesia or the “called out ones.” It is made up of those who have heard His voice, as it were, and responded to His call. As such, the followers of Christ become a part of something that has eternal significance and everlasting rewards.
Our Lectionary reading from Psalm 105 delineates a smorgasbord of ways that God has nourished, nurtured, and cared for His people. It uses the language of covenant (bond, agreement, relationship) to recount God’s faithfulness to His often-unfaithful people. Yahweh’s relationship with His chosen people is one of love and care and intimacy. He is their God and they are His people.
Similarly, we are fashioned into a community of faith through Christ as part of His church. As sons and daughters of God, we become family to one another: brothers and sisters in Christ.
Scripture says that Christ is the “head of the church” and we are “His body.” We are to be His continuing presence in the world: His hands, His feet, His voice, His heart. When one hurts, we all hurt with them. When one rejoices, we likewise rejoice. We find that we are stronger together than we could ever be apart.
What a thrilling thing this is! We care for one another. We are connected to one another. We love one another. We encourage one another. We belong! And our uniform is not a flimsy outward garment that will get tattered and torn and waste away at some point. Our new garment is the very presence of Christ – we “put on Christ” as scripture says and wear (show, display, reveal) His likeness to the world.
The hymn entitled Speak, O Lord by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend says it well,
“Take Your Truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness;
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.”
We are delighted to belong to His church – His ecclesia – and to be counted among His “called out ones.” We are unified as a part of His body as brothers and sisters who belong to each other. We are family.
As we journey toward the cross of Christ this Lenten season, let us be mindful that there is still room at the table; still abundance at God’s smorgasbord of nurture and care. Whom might we yet invite to join in the feast of Christ’s goodness and love as our brother or sister of our faith?
About “Becoming Like Christ” (Weekly Lenten Reflections)
In 2019, we developed a 7-week long series packed full of devotions called “Exploring Humanity and Divinity.” It was about wrestling with our humanity as we seek to be transformed into the likeness of Christ.
After a tumultuous last year, and with tensions high on political, cultural, and social levels, it seems that “wrestling” is just as relevant today as it was two years ago.
In that spirit, we believed it would be healthy to resurrect a similar theme to this year’s Lenten devotional series: Becoming Like Christ.