FROM THE PASTOR
Attributes of the Church: one – holy – catholic and apostolic
I can’t think for you and you can’t think for me. I don’t know what you are thinking and you don’t know what I am thinking. It’s the same with our heart – I don’t know what’s going on in your heart, and you don’t know what’s going on in my heart. And with faith, I cannot believe for you, and you cannot believe for me! My heart, my mind, what I believe is hidden from you, and vice-versa. When we are out in public, on planes, trains and automobiles, at the hairdresser (not that I frequent hairdressers), I cannot tell who is a Christian and neither can you. The same, I cannot tell what the church is by just pointing to a building and say that’s a church over there, because they have a cross out the front, or a stained glass window, or some kind of fancy sign saying “You’re welcome in our Church!”, a place of worship yes, but not The Church.
We confess, “I believe in... the holy catholic church’. This means the church is always an object of faith because it can never be verified. True believers can never be verified by any kind of test. But we can be sure of this: where the Holy Spirit is active through the preaching of God’s word and the sacraments are celebrated, according to what Christ Jesus instituted – there the church is PRESENT. As God promised that his word does not return empty to him.
So God’s word and the sacraments are recognised as the marks of the church – where these are present, the church is present. Now what follows may be hard to grapple with, and perhaps be difficult for us to accept, but the church as an institution also includes non-Christians, hypocrites and sinners – worship is public and the place where worshippers gather is public; building, park otherwise. Only God knows who are really true members of the church because only God can see into human hearts. Didn’t Jesus explain all this in the parable of the net where good fish and bad fish are caught? And you’ll recall Jesus making the same point, told in a different way, with the weeds among the wheat? (Matthew 13:24-30 & 36-43).
This was not only to indicate that only God knows true members of the church, but also to warn against trying to separate the two groups; only at the end of time will this take place. So, yes, for this reason the true church is hidden, yet each one of us can REMAIN confident that those who faithfully hear the word of God and receive the sacrament really are members of the TRUE CHURCH, it always remains hidden with all its turmoil, pride, selfishness and factions. It remains a confession of faith.
Warm regards, pastor Mat.
We Pray For:
† The whole church on earth, that it may labour in the harvest field of the world.
† Pastors and evangelists to preach the word of God.
† Church workers to serve the needs of the faithful.
† Welfare and health workers to serve the needs of the community.
† Relief agency workers to alleviate the suffering of those who are very poor or threatened by natural disasters.
† Political leaders to work for peace the common wellbeing of all citizens.
† All Christians in their calling, that they may serve God’s kingdom by serving others.
I can’t think for you and you can’t think for me. I don’t know what you are thinking and you don’t know what I am thinking. It’s the same with our heart – I don’t know what’s going on in your heart, and you don’t know what’s going on in my heart. And with faith, I cannot believe for you, and you cannot believe for me! My heart, my mind, what I believe is hidden from you, and vice-versa. When we are out in public, on planes, trains and automobiles, at the hairdresser (not that I frequent hairdressers), I cannot tell who is a Christian and neither can you. The same, I cannot tell what the church is by just pointing to a building and say that’s a church over there, because they have a cross out the front, or a stained glass window, or some kind of fancy sign saying “You’re welcome in our Church!”, a place of worship yes, but not The Church.
We confess, “I believe in... the holy catholic church’. This means the church is always an object of faith because it can never be verified. True believers can never be verified by any kind of test. But we can be sure of this: where the Holy Spirit is active through the preaching of God’s word and the sacraments are celebrated, according to what Christ Jesus instituted – there the church is PRESENT. As God promised that his word does not return empty to him.
So God’s word and the sacraments are recognised as the marks of the church – where these are present, the church is present. Now what follows may be hard to grapple with, and perhaps be difficult for us to accept, but the church as an institution also includes non-Christians, hypocrites and sinners – worship is public and the place where worshippers gather is public; building, park otherwise. Only God knows who are really true members of the church because only God can see into human hearts. Didn’t Jesus explain all this in the parable of the net where good fish and bad fish are caught? And you’ll recall Jesus making the same point, told in a different way, with the weeds among the wheat? (Matthew 13:24-30 & 36-43).
This was not only to indicate that only God knows true members of the church, but also to warn against trying to separate the two groups; only at the end of time will this take place. So, yes, for this reason the true church is hidden, yet each one of us can REMAIN confident that those who faithfully hear the word of God and receive the sacrament really are members of the TRUE CHURCH, it always remains hidden with all its turmoil, pride, selfishness and factions. It remains a confession of faith.
Warm regards, pastor Mat.
We Pray For:
† The whole church on earth, that it may labour in the harvest field of the world.
† Pastors and evangelists to preach the word of God.
† Church workers to serve the needs of the faithful.
† Welfare and health workers to serve the needs of the community.
† Relief agency workers to alleviate the suffering of those who are very poor or threatened by natural disasters.
† Political leaders to work for peace the common wellbeing of all citizens.
† All Christians in their calling, that they may serve God’s kingdom by serving others.