Tucked away in Volume III of Oden's Systematic Theology, p. 274, is this:
"In acts of mercy to the homeless, the poor, and the alienated, the serving church offers simple acts of cleansing and feeding. Nothing is more prized to the homeless than a bath and a meal. Nothing is more characteristic of the church's identity and self-offering than bathing and feeding."
A good word, you say, but how is that news?
These three sentences introduce, not a section on social ministry, but (amazingly, without commentary on the radical retooling it entails), the section called
"Bath and Meal,"
which (of course) means:
baptism and communion!
How about that? "Sacrament" as an offering to the poor, and service to the homeless.
Or the other way around?
My guess is the other way around - we live into the sacraments, and by connecting to the needs of others our religion is purified of insulating tendencies!
ReplyDelete:-)
ReplyDeleteabsolutely!
ReplyDeletecan't wait to see what other gems are tucked away in Oden