Echoes of the Gospel

  He didn’t avoid naming real divisions, and he didn’t soften hard truths. At the same time, he always wrote as a spiritual father, not a commentator. If St. Paul did send a letter to all Christians today it would possibly sound something like this: Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle by the will of God, To all who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to God always for you, because the name of Christ is still proclaimed among you, and many have come to believe. Yet I cannot commend you in this: that you are divided, and your divisions have multiplied beyond measure. For it has been reported to me that among you there are quarrels, and that each of you says, “I follow this teacher,” or “I follow that tradition,” or “I follow no one but the Scriptures as I interpret them.” Is Christ divided? Was the Lord crucified for your private judgment? Some among you ha...

"If it’s just a symbol to hell with it"-Flannery O'Connor  The Road to Emmaus account in Luke 24:13–35 reveals something profound about how Christ chooses to make Himself known. The disciples walk with Him, hear Him explain the Scriptures, and yet “their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.” It is only later “in the breaking of the bread," that their eyes are opened. This is no small detail. Christ is fully present to them on the road, yet He is not recognized. It is in the breaking of the bread that recognition comes. Word and Sacrament are both present, but it is the Eucharistic act that becomes the moment of revelation. From the beginning, this pattern shaped Christian worship. As seen throughout Acts of the Apostles, believers gathered not only to hear teaching, but to devote themselves to “the breaking of the bread.” The Eucharist was not an optional symbol, but the very heart of their encounter with the risen Christ. For over a thousand years, Christians unders...