SUBMERGEഉദാഹരണം

Give Me the Body of Christ: Hearing, Speaking, Advocating, and Consoling in the Spirit of Truth and Love

John Wesley vividly describes the process of spiritual rebirth and respiration in his sermon on “The New Birth” (Sermon 45 in John 3). He explains that prior to our spiritual rebirth, as believers in utero, our senses are dull. We cannot perceive with spiritual clarity, our ears cannot hear, and our eyes cannot see. Before our spiritual rebirth, we cannot speak and act to help others. When we begin the song of life again, from the top, it is like we are newborns gasping in the air to make sounds for the first time. Now like Nicodemus, we can breathe in the Spirit, and we can cry in the Spirit. With practice, we can use our voices to advocate, speak for those who suffer, champion the innocent and accused, and console the brokenhearted. We hear the truth, speak the truth, and even when we fail as Nicodemus failed, love compels us to ask for the body of Christ to be given to us so that we may honor God and console those who grieve with overwhelming generosity.

In biochemistry, the physiological process of “Respiration” involves breathing oxygen through our lungs. This oxygen is carried in our blood by hemoglobin to cells, where the molecules from food are oxidized to fuel our bodies. Energy and water are produced, along with carbon dioxide, which we breathe out. So also, in the spiritual process of “Respiration,” we must breathe in the Spirit of God. Consequently, the spiritual food from songs, hymns, sermons, scripture, prayers, and fellowship transforms into the energy of our life, and we breathe out the Spirit by speaking, acting, and giving of ourselves in a way that honors the body of Christ.

Reflection:

How can you claim the church as your own by hearing and speaking the truth, advocating, experiencing failure, and consoling?

Dr. Lisa Crow
SNU Professor of Chemistry