Excerpts From: The Messenger |
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Behold the Body of Christ
"Jesus said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37-39)
Jesus summarized the entire bible in two statements, "Love God and love others." At first glance, it appears that Christ is giving us two commands to follow but they are actually one in the same. We love God by loving others. Jesus is teaching us that people, and caring for them, is more important than anything else we do. In fact, showing kindness and caring for others is an act of worship.
I heard a true story about a man who was a great admirer of Mother Teresa and her work. While visiting her country, the man had high hopes of meeting her. Time after time, he would visit the places where she often went to minister to the people, but he never saw her.
On his last day of his trip, while worshiping in the local church, the man, to his amazement, found himself in the presence of Mother Teresa who was attending services as well. He could hardly believe it! The man excitedly began pointing and whispering about Mother Teresa to those around him. Quietly, Mother Teresa stepped out of her pew and escorted the man outside into the poverty stricken streets.
Without saying a word, she led the man to an alley where the walls were lined with old boxes, junk and smelly trash. She told the man to push aside the rubble. Obeying her command, he began to remove the fragments of garbage one piece at a time. Lying under the rubbish, and to his surprise, was a naked, frail, old man. He stood there speechless. Then, he heard Mother Teresa say to him the four most powerful words he had ever heard..."Behold the body of Christ."
In one short sentence, Mother Teresa echoed the words of Christ spoken long ago, and yet, still relevant today. "For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.
Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'" (Matthew 25: 35-40)
Consider the following!
Loving others is how we love and worship our God, who is the author, creator, and meaning of true worship. It is in God's love that we discover our true security and our true hope and our true worth-whileness and our true rescue from the fear of death. The more we trust in God to make our life worthwhile, the more effective our deeds are in the long run, for they come out of our true self -- our true center where God is nurturing and God is healing and God is empowering us to be men and women for others.
We need to push back the rubble in our life today and see who needs to be loved, cared for, or encouraged. Then take advantage of the moment. The next time we see a person in need, don't shrug it off. Instead, "Behold the body of Christ." Take care and Peace be with you all.
Your friend and pastor
Pastor Samuel King-Kabu
On April 27, 2014, we will be dedicating the beautiful historic pulpit that came to us from St. Columba church, which was closed in 2012. (The St. Columba cornerstone was laid in 1907 and the church opened in March 1908.)
The pulpit was erected as a thanks-offering by Albert Cliffe on May 28, 1950. The pulpit railing was donated in memory of Private Kenneth MacKay, 73rd RHC (Royal Highlanders of Canada), who died at age 18 on April 20th 1917 in the battle of Vimy Ridge.
In August 1969, while a Polish congregation was renting space from St. Columba, they had a visit from Karol Wojtyla, the catholic bishop of Cracow, (and who later became Pope John-Paul II). It is likely the only protestant church in Montreal to receive a visit from a future pope. He would have used this pulpit when he gave his sermon during this visit.
St. Columba Church, was closed in 2012, leaving many unhappy parishioners. Some of these people have made St. Ansgar’s Church their church home since then. (A Jewish congregation, Chabad NDG has since purchased the church property.)
Web Page prepared by:
Roger Kenner
& Jette Blair.
Content-New Topics Last Updated: 2014/05/22
St. Ansgar's Lutheran Church - Montreal