MATTHEW 5:13-16 [ BELIEVERS ARE SALT AND LIGHT ]

Jesus said to his disciples:

• “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ...

In this section we explore the mystery of the Church through several important images from the Sacred Scriptures: the People of God, the Body of Christ, and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. These images help us not only to grasp more fully the Mystery that is the Church because the metaphors are frequently used in the Church but also to understand the Sacred Scriptures and the liturgy, especially the Mass.

Images of the Church

THE CHURCH IS THE PEOPLE OF GOD

• The People of God could potentially include every person on the planet. Under the first Covenant, membership was a birthright. Under the New Covenant, Christ invites all people to have faith in him and to be baptized so as to belong to the People of God, to form one family.

• This image is rooted in the Old Testament covenants, where God accompanies and loves the Israelites. God calls the Church into existence, forming a community of faith, hope, and love centered in Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

• Is a community to which every person is welcome and truly belongs—no particular skills or talents needed! God invites all people to belong to the People of God, to form one family.

• God made people to live in communion with him and to find happiness through this communion. There is a place for every person in the People of God.

• God chose the people of Israel to be his People and made a Covenant with them. Jews became part of the People of God by birth.

• When Christ offered the New Covenant at the Last Supper, he created the new People of God, the Church, based on this New Covenant.

• Followers of Christ became members of this People not through physical birth but through the spiritual birth of Baptism and their faith in Christ.

• Because the Church draws people from all parts of the world, she includes people with different customs and languages and of various levels of understanding and interest.

• The universal Church is united as a people from the unity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

THE CHURCH IS THE BODY OF CHRIST

• The Body of Christ is a second important image for the Church. This name reveals the extremely close relationship between Christ and believers as well as the intimate relationship among the believers themselves.

• Christ the Head rules and nourishes the Body. He is the only Head, and the Holy Spirit is the breath that animates the Body

• Together, we form the Body of Christ. If one suffers, all parts suffer. If one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.

• In the letters of Paul, the expression “the body of Christ” refers to:

• the human body of Jesus Christ

• his presence in the Sacrament of the Eucharist

• his body, which is the Church.

• “Grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together . . . , brings about the body’s growth and builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:15–16).

Communion in Christ with Others

• When you learned about the Body of Christ in preparation for First Communion, your study may have been limited to the important truth that we receive the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist. Christ told us, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him” (John 6:56).

• Because we, as members of the Body of Christ, are in intimate communion with Christ as individuals, we are also all closely related to one another. People of diverse backgrounds, languages, countries, and experiences belong to the Body of Christ.

• We are united in Christ. The comparison between the Church and the human body illustrates how intimate our relationship is with Christ and with other Church members.

• We not only come from many different places but we possess different gifts and, therefore, assume different roles in the Church. We contribute to the Church in different ways, much like the leg and foot contribute to the good of the human body differently than an ear or an eye.

Through the Eucharist we share inthe Body of Christ in a special way.

THE CHURCH IS THE BRIDE OF CHRIST• The Church is the Bride and, therefore,

Christ is the Groom, to whom the Church is promised and given. This metaphor speaks of Christ’s great love for the Church.

• What is incredible about this union is that Christ gave himself up for his bride, the Church, in order to make her holy and to join her with himself in an everlasting covenant!

• Saint Paul compares the intimate relationship between a husband and wife with the intimate relationship between Christ and the Church, saying, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her” (Ephesians 5:25–26).

THE CHURCH IS THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT• God’s People are a building “not made with hands”

(2 Corinthians 5:1), which God is constructing.

• The Holy Spirit is the center of the Church’s life. Another way to say that is to say the Spirit is the soul of the Mystical Body of Christ.

• The Holy Spirit is the source of the Church’s life, unity, gifts, and charisms. The Holy Spirit is present in the Body of Christ, the Church.

• Jesus Christ has poured the Holy Spirit onto all the members of the Church, making the Holy Spirit part of everything the Church is and does.

• The Holy Spirit is the source of the Church’s life and is active in the liturgy. He reveals Christ’s presence in the community gathered, in the proclamation of the Scriptures, in the presider, and in the physical signs of the liturgical celebration.

• The Holy Spirit also gives us talents and skills that enable us to contribute to the Church’s mission.

• When Jesus told his Apostles about the Holy Spirit, he used the word advocate. A human advocate speaks or writes in your favor, supports you, and recommends you.

• Imagine how much more the Holy Spirit does for us!

• The next time you are in a difficult situation, call on the Holy Spirit

COMMON THEME• The common theme of these images of the Church is

relationships:

• God’s relationship with his People as Husband, King, Father, Builder

• the People of God’s relationship with God as Bride, Flock, Family, Body

• our relationship with one another as branches of the same vine, sheep in the same flock, children in the same family, members of the same body