Communion of Saints

In the Apostles Creed, as we profess our faith, and the beliefs that are central to our faith, we say we believe in the Communion of Saints. What is it that we believe when we say, "... I believe in the Communion of Saints." 

First, look at the word "communion". The dictionary defines the word as 

• a sharing in
• belonging to
• participation in an intimate relationship with others

Now imagine this scene, you are walking down the street, you turn and enter a walkway leading to the front door of a beautiful family home, into which you freely enter, to participate in all the benefits of that family's life, because it's your family, your home; you belong, sharing in communion with the others of your family. Other people must walk on by, because it is not their home, they do not belong, they are strangers and do not have communion with your family.

In the picture above, on the left side, there is group of this world's people, among which we might easily include ourselves. Like all people, we are striving to live our lives as we move along the street called time. Now the question to ask, do you have a home to which you are going, a family with which you share life, loving relationships in which you share an intimate communion? Is there a door which is open to you, through which you freely enter because you belong?

On the right of the image above, through an open door, is the family of the Communion of Saints. They are those who heard the invitation, given by Jesus, to come and join his family, to belong and have communion with him; to follow in his steps, truly and faithfully, as he brings them home to the Father's house - the home prepared for the Communion of Saints, safe and secure forever.

There is so much to discover about this idea of Communion. For instance, there is the difference between being a practitioner of religion and belonging to the "communion of the faithful". In John's gospel account, we see Jesus saying: I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15

There is a real difference between the "practice of religion", and "a living faith". The next few posts in Voices, will explore the significance of this difference. 

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In 2013, Voices had a series devoted to, "The Baptism In the Holy Spirit". You might wish to visit those posts at this time as well. The links are found in the side panel of the page. They begin with this post: Baptism in the Holy Spirit - One.