“The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.

And to the true unity of the Church it is enough to agree concerning the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments. Nor is it necessary that human traditions, that is, rites or ceremonies, instituted by men, should be everywhere alike.  As Paul says: One faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all, etc.” (Augsburg Confession, Article VII)

“Perfection is not some moral embellishment which we acquire outside of Christ…Perfection is the work of Christ himself living in us in faith. Perfection is the full life of charity perfected by the gifts of the Holy Ghost. In order that we may attain to Christian perfection, Jesus has left us His teachings, the Sacraments of the Church, and all the counsels by which he shoes us the way to live more perfectly in Him and for Him. We must not regard the Church purely as an institution or an organization. The church, like Christ, lives and acts in a manner at once human and divine. Certainly there is imperfection in the human members of Christ, but their imperfection is inseparably united to his perfection, sustained by His power, and purified by his holiness, as long as they remain in living union with Him by faith and Love.” (Thomas Merton, “The Church Sanctifies Her Members”, Life and Holiness, p.54)

The church is not filled with holy, or righteous people. The church is filled with broken pots, cast-aside plates, cracked cups, and out-used table cloths. In other words, the church is filled with broken, damaged, and forgotten people—as well as those who have been set aside to teach and preach. But even those people are broken. It is Christ who makes us whole. It is the Holy Spirit that fills us again and again as the world drains and destroys us.

As I watch the process of determining if one broken person is “worthy” to be elected to the Supreme Court, I cannot help but see irony in the process of broken people trying to assess the brokenness of another. I am greatly distressed—for them, for their future, for the future of our country and our world. But then I am reminded that “…it is Christ who makes us whole.”

Pastor Dave