By Father Tom Knoblach
“They recognized these men as having been with Jesus.”
This verse comes from the interrogation of Peter and John, arrested for preaching about the Resurrection. St. Luke states that “observing [their] self-assurance, and realizing that they were uneducated men of no standing, the questioners were amazed. Then they recognized these men as having been with Jesus” (Acts 13).
One of the encouraging effects of the All Things New planning process in our Diocese has been to prompt many people to think more deeply on the question: just what is the Church?
The answer is neither easy nor obvious. The Catechism of the Catholic Church spends 57 pages just to outline the essentials.
I once wrote that everyone can say something true about the Eucharist, but no one can say everything true about the Eucharist. The same can be said of the Church. Both are the Body of Christ, the sacramental presence of the eternal Son of God, whose infinite and perfect love remains truly present in the brokenness and sorrows of the world. At its core, the Church we experience continues the Incarnation, the Word still inhabiting our human nature to bring God into our midst. It exists in time but leads us to eternity. It is both human and divine. We are one in Christ and we are many as members of his Body.
In 1974, Avery Cardinal Dulles published his renowned “Models of the Church” to reflect this rich and multifaceted reality, outlined in six images.
The Church is an institution, a society organized in the world with its foundations in the earthly ministry of Jesus, who gave the Church its essential structure to perpetuate his saving mission throughout time.
And the Church is a mystical communion, a community gathered by the Holy Spirit across place and time and destined for eternal life in the Communion of Saints.
And the Church is a sacrament, a priestly people who are an effective sign of Jesus’s presence and purpose, a real though currently imperfect participation in the life of God.
And the Church is a herald, announcing the kerygma (the core Gospel message of Jesus’ saving death and resurrection) to every person in every age as prophets of the Kingdom.
And the Church is a servant, called to imitate the Lord’s own witness as One who came not to be served, but to serve; in all its works in education, health care, social service, relief for the poor and suffering, and more, the Church shows itself alive with the same Spirit of Christ’s charity and mercy.
And, combining all of these, the Church is a community of disciples, called by Jesus just as the Apostles were, with the simple but life-defining words: “Follow me” and “Go into the whole world and make disciples of all the nations.”
Which of these is true? All of them. Which is complete? None of them. The Church is all these things, and more.
As the Creed reminds us weekly, the Church is “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.” We are one, united through our common Baptism into the one Son of God and given to drink of the one Spirit. We receive the same call to holiness, made possible by the gifts and graces Jesus freely bestows that we may grow to be more like him, the Holy One. We are catholic when we embrace all that God has revealed and share it with all our sisters and brothers in the human family.
Of all these truths, I am especially drawn to the Church as apostolic. More than just a reference to antiquity, the apostolic nature of the Church ultimately means that it is founded on an experience, a relationship.
Over many months, listening to his teaching and witnesses to miraculous moments, the Twelve were with Jesus. They were confused by him, jealous of one another, loyal and disloyal in turns, both prideful and humbled. As the Son of Man had nowhere to lay his head, Jesus implied his followers are also a pilgrim people, willing to journey with him and not settle for the familiar and convenient,
They were “called and assembled” by him (the roots of the Hebrew, Greek and Latin words we inherit as “ecclesia”). They were shattered when he was executed by the Romans, betrayed by one among them. They were transformed when they saw him alive again. They emerged from their fearful hiding place to walk directly into exactly what had frightened them: to be known associates of the Crucified One, God in the flesh.
These men had been with Jesus.
Even the idea of hierarchy comes from the apostolic nature of the Church. While “hierarchy” might think of power and command, its Greek roots come from heiros, meaning “holy” or “sacred” and arche, meaning “beginning.” For the Church, hierarchy is not about greater and lesser, rank and privilege. It is about being connected in a living, continuous tradition that reaches back through time to the very people who had been with Jesus. The Church exists so that every person can have this same contact with the risen Christ across place and time, in peace and war, in prosperity and suffering, in prayer and service, in life and death, until we see Jesus face to face on his return.
This is our mission, our very being – to be recognized as the people who have been with Jesus.
Above photo: A file photo shows a family praying during Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington. (OSV News photo/Jaclyn Lippelmann, Catholic Standard)
At the risk of writing TOO much this month, I wish to thank Fr. Tom for his once again, excellent article. To cite “church” in six ways as the people of God, and not just the bricks and mortar buildings – YES! Then, redefining “hierarchy” by its origins and empowering all of us – the priesthood and lay ordained Body of Christ – as equally commissioned, both encourages and exhorts us to reply to God’s callings! Please inform Fr. Tom of this reader’s deep gratitude and appreciation!