Day 33: “The Fellowship of Christ’s Body”

DAY 33

Faith in the Midst of a Pandemic

A series of daily reflections for people of faith

by Rev. Robert Bayley, Interim Pastor

Patuxent Presbyterian Church, California, Maryland

WEEK FIVE: THURSDAY 16 APRIL 2020

“The Fellowship of Christ’s Body”

Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Pascal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

- Prayer for Thursday in Easter Week, The Book of Common Prayer

They came from everywhere -South Africa, Canada and the US, England and Germany and France, various Latin American countries and a few from Asia, all gathered in one place to study God’s Word and be discipled. Their differing cultures were compounded by significantly different personalities, and I was their instructor for a week of Discipleship Training School (DTS) at the Youth With a Mission (YWAM) base in Amsterdam, Holland. What I remember most about that week are the times of worship – all those differences melded into a singular sound of worship and praise as students, many with eyes closed and hands upraised, worshipped and praised the Lord who had come into their lives and changed them.

Fellowship – the New Testament Greek word is ‘koinonia’ meaning to share something together in common. It is a relational dynamic made possible by the resurrection of Jesus which we are continuing to look at during Easter Week. It is a sharing of something in common with God that immediately puts us into fellowship with all who share fellowship with Him. John puts it this way in 1 John 1:3: “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”   

We are an unlikely band of believers, we Christians, but what we have in Jesus we share with each other and it binds us together. As millions via the internet worship together alone, fellowship becomes a new and deeper dynamic in our lives, and it is enriched in a way that will mark us when we once again are together in the same place as a worshipping people of God.  

Reflective question: During this pandemic, how can you intentionally cultivate this ‘fellowship of Christ’s body’ with other believers in your local church?

Reflective scripture: Acts 2:42 – “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

Reflective hymn: “Blest Be the Tie That Binds” – John Fawcett (1740-1817)

Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love;

The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.