April 15, 2026

Wednesday Word . . . Church

A church is a community that exists as, and only as, a participation in God's life-giving movement. – Anthony D. Baker, Wisdom, Knowledge, and Faith, pg. 20

The Episcopal Church hosted a Zoom seminar a few weeks ago that featured Episcopal theologians from a variety of schools and disciplines. The seminar was not quite what I was expecting, but the various participants (and some who were not present) had written essays collected in this book. In his essay, Baker puts forth the idea that Christian theology is “a study of motion;” that is, it's the study of our journey from and back to our home with God.

If we think about this journey, and we think about God, we can see that God is motion. From the beginning when God created “the vast expanse of interstellar space, galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses, and this fragile earth, our island home” (Eucharistic Prayer C), to the sending of the prophets and his Son, to the eventual gathering of God and people in the heavenly city, God is in motion. And we are part of that motion.

Like the Prodigal Son, there are times when we wander away, but we also always make our way back. Like that son's older brother, there are times when we refuse to participate in God's expansive love, but hopefully we also choose to be part of God's family and make our way back into the house.

The mission of the Church is to “restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.” The duty of all Christians is to follow Christ, come together for worship, and to work, pray, and give for the spread of the kingdom. This is our participation in God's life-giving movement that Baker is addressing.

When we invite people to join us for worship, we are helping them move into God. When we sit with them and help them through the service, we are helping them participate in God's movement. If we are worshiping by ourselves, we are moving into God. In the moment we participate in Holy Communion we have made the journey to join with God in the hope that we become one.

May we never forget that, as God is bound together in the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and moves in love, we are bound together in a faithful community as we move from separation to union.

This, then, is the point of Church – to help move us ever closer into the live-giving movement of God.

Blessings,