Posted by nojoum 5/20/2017 9:41 am | #31 |
Proclus wrote:
We could get into a deep discussion here, but I think the simple idea that is necessary for our conversation is just that one does not need to see participation in a community and the work of Christ as two mutually exclusive things. One of the ways that Christ operates in someone's life is through the community that he himself founded and gave instructions to.
At a more mystical level, we believe that Christ actively lives in each of his disciples and in their collective life together. This means that we cannot completely separate the activity of Christ from the activity of his disciples, individually or collectively. For example, when my fellow Christian prays for me at church, Christ himself is involved in this. In some sense, Christ himself prays for me as that Christian prays.
Furthermore, when God extends grace to us, we do not have the luxury of dictating to him the forms of grace we think we would like. If we reject one form of grace that he extends to us, he may kindly extend grace in another way later---that is his prerogative. But he may also insist on us coming and receiving grace in the mode that it is offered, and if we reject this we may be out of luck. When Christ, therefore, comes to us in the activity and life of his community, rejecting that offer may be a rejection of something we need and cannot get in another form.
Thank you for the clarification.