Ephesians 1:22-23 (CEB)

22 God put everything under Christ’s feet and made him head of everything in the church, 23 which is his body. His body, the church, is the fullness of Christ, who fills everything in every way.


Reflection

We have been looking at reasons that Church is important. As Joe pointed out on Sunday, we need to be reaching out to each other to share our stories and our lives with others within the church and with those outside the church. It has often been said that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. People find it difficult to understand what the church is about these days as many times it feels like the church can be judgmental, cliquey, and more about condemning people than trying to help them experience the love and support that we feel as members of the community of faith, and specifically Medford UMC.

This passage reminds us that Christ is the head of the church and all we do should be an extension of him. That is why we talk about being the hands and feet of Christ as we connect with people in whatever way we can. The song “If We Are the Body” by Casting Crowns reminds us that we are literally an extension of Christ in the world. The chorus starts “If we are the body, why aren’t his hands reaching?” “His” hands refer to Jesus’ hands.

We can welcome new people to church, and we can show our love and be Jesus’ body outside the church in very simple ways. We can smile at the mom with the screaming toddler in the grocery store line to let her know we have been there, we can buy an extra sandwich to give to the homeless person on the street, or we can just open a door for someone. As Joe also pointed out, people are lonely. Even in a crowd people can be lonely, so just some acknowledgment that they are seen can make someone’s day or week. Please listen to the song as a reminder of what our role is as the body of Christ.

by Janet Waryck


For Pondering & Prayer

What opportunities are we missing to be the hands and feet of Christ?

Prayer: Jesus, help us to truly be an extension of you in our words and actions. Help us to show others your love.. Amen.