The ELCA’s “theme” this year is “God’s work. Our hands.” You can see it emblazoned on our servant t-shirts. This theme I think attempts to draw on the rich imagery used in the New Testament that names the Church as the Body of Christ. As the Letter to the Ephesians so richly testifies–and what I have so deeply witnessed here–is the variety of members that make up the Body and the rich variety of gifts that animate the same Body in the power of the Holy Spirit.
I have missed some of the “connective tissue” in the Gathering so far. We have participated in acts of serving in many places throughout New Orleans. And we have heard a lot about justice, serving the poor, etc., but not enough about why and how we do that precisely as members of the Body of Christ, joined to Jesus himself in the mystical waters of Baptism. It is our union with Christ that not only saves us but animates our serving in his Name and as his Body.
Consider adding the letter to the Ephesians to your devotional reading list this week.