UNIQUE TAPESTRY of the CHURCH

Unique tapestry of the Church 

(Zion Newsletter, November 2024)

November concludes the Church Year. This year the calendar is very precise – we begin the next Church Year on December 1. Also, November concludes the regular part of the Church Year – when our paraments are green (most of the time), then we talk about our spiritual lives, and when our walk with God is the focus of our attention.

The regular part begins right after the Day of Pentecost – the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the First Apostolic Church in Jerusalem. So, we begin this half year with the celebration of the church, and we end it with a commemoration of All the Saints, contemplating our final destiny, and enjoying the festivities of Thanksgiving Day. Thinking of the Church what fills a mind of a Christian these days.

From the very beginning the community of believers was a picture of a family. Even in the Garden we see husband and wife, then the story of their children…  sad story that leads to the Flood. And after the Flood we have Abraham and his family, Isaac, Jacob with 12 sons. These sons form the 12 tribes of Israel. When we read Genesis 49 when Jacob blesses them, you see that he comes up with different “nicknames” for each of them. Ruben is a water, Judah is a lion, Benjamin is a wolf etc. They are all different. Everyone had his own strengths and weaknesses.

Then Jesus came and gathered 12 disciples – symbolically connecting 12 tribes with the new leadership (that’s why we have 24 elders in Revelation – 12+12). They are different too. St. Peter – a great outspoken charismatic – sometimes he says the words of profound wisdom. Remember, it was him who confessed Jesus as Christ, the Son of God, the Living one! Yet, it was the very same Peter who said that he’d never betray the LORD. On the other hand, Matthew doesn’t say a word during the three years of Jesus’ training, but he is the one who wrote the first Gospel.

Nothing has changed with the years – we are the Church, with our own peculiarities. Some people have a vigorous prayer life, some people dedicate more time to Bible Studies, some people are more engaged in the outreach opportunities or fellowship with other brothers and sisters. The Body of Christ – the family of God – needs everybody.  You can bring to the church all your gifts and talents. And the main reason that all of us have a place in the Church is the fact that Jesus paid for our sins. He paid for the sinfulness of humanity in general and He restored the relationship of the world with the Creator (2 Cor. 5:19). But He also paid for the sins of everyone of us on a very personal level. That’s why, being intimately connected with the Savior, knowing and feeling His love on a very confidential level, we are freed to be a very unique part of the Church and play a very specific role in His networking that no one else can do.