Community & Communion
As I walked around the park, I came across friends and their families. We broke bread together and conversed. I met with Larry, my ACTS brother who prepared a healthy salad that allowed me to stay on my diet. Jose who is on our parish council shared his insights from his career in psychiatry. Andrew, another member on our parish council, provided the carne asada. Another friend, Ricky, later came around from his long walk on the beach talking about the Christ on the Cross he had made in the sand. This I got to see, I thought.
Not asking for directions, I headed for beach, met with members of our Young Adults group, and asked if they wanted to join me. They did. As we walked along the shoreline together, they chatted and giggled among themselves until we came upon it. A life model of Christ on Cross. The group became silent. Christ had joined us on the beach that morning in the Mass, and now here he was again. Christ’s words, “I am with you always” seemed to hang in the air. After the moment of silence, some pulled out their camera and took photos. Their youthful revelry resumed, playing in the water and chatting amongst them. And yet it did not feel irreverent. As I reflected on this juxtaposition, the words of St. Paul came to mind, we are members of one body which Christ is the head. Yet this body would not have been possible without the passion, death and resurrection of Christ.
Not One Member, but Many
As the evening tide came in with the waves blending the sand and surf making it hard to tell where exactly land ends and the ocean begins, I wondered whether it was the same with us. As members in the body of Christ, where do we end and Christ begin? St. Paul continues:
“For as the body is one, and hath many members; and all the members of the body, whereas they are many, yet are one body, so also is Christ. For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or free; and in one Spirit we have all been made to drink. For the body also is not one member, but many.” ~ 1 Cor 12:12-14
When we unite ourselves with Christ, it is not a dissolution of our self—quite to the contrary—it is when we become whole. For as St. Augustine wrote, “We are restless Lord, until we rest in you.” Man is only made whole united with others through God. We see this beginning with God bringing Adam to Eve and the message is repeated to the Israelites and culminates in Christ, the bridegroom and the Church, his Bride. Our faith is no private personal affair, but needs to be lived out in our community of faith with our brothers and sisters in Christ and radiate outward to the world. This is how the Christian mission began and needs to be continued.
So in retrospect, our day at beach was far more than just leisure, but re-creation by coming together as a community to worship and share our time with one another in fellowship building up the body of Christ to be that light to the world that we are all called to be.As summer nears it’s end, the parishes under the charge of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in East San Fernando Valley come together to hold the Tri-Parish Beach Picnic at Buenaventura State Beach Park where mass is said at 11 am in park, leaving free to enjoy the with our friends and family. This was my second year attending with the Young Adult group of St. Ferdinand, but in the past year my connection to other two parishes, Santa Rosa and Mary Immaculate had grown through the Tri-Parish ACTS ministry. ACTS stands for Adoration Community Theology and Service and seeks to provide a deepening conversioning experience through the retreats it holds. Through my participation with ACTS, I have grown closer to our sister parishes and made many new friends.
As I walked around beach park, I came across friends and their families. We broke bread together and conversed. I met with Larry, my ACTS brother who prepared a healthy salad that allowed to stay on my diet. Jose who is on our parish council shared his insights from his career in psychiatry. Andrew, another member on our parish council, provided the carne asada. Ricky later came around from his long walk on the beach. He said he made Christ on the Cross from the beach sand. This I got to see, I thought.
Not asking for directions, I headed for beach, met with members of our Young Adults group, and asked if they wanted to join me. They did. As we walked along the shoreline together, they chatted and giggled among themselves until we came upon it. A life model of the Christ on Cross. The group became silent. Christ had joined us on the beach that morning in the mass, and now here he was again. Christ’s words, “I am with you always” seem to hang in the air. After the moment of silence, some pulled out their camera and took photos. Their youthful revelry resumed, playing in the water and chatting amongst them. And yet it did not feel irreverent. As I reflected on this juxtaposition, the words of St. Paul came to mind, we are members of one body which Christ is the head. Yet this body would not have been possible without the passion, death and resurrection of Christ.
As the evening tide came in with the waves blending the sand and surf making it hard to tell where exactly land ends and the ocean begins, I wondered whether was it same with us: As member in the body of Christ, where do we end and Christ begins? St. Paul continues, “For as the body is one, and hath many members; and all the members of the body, whereas they are many, yet are one body, so also is Christ. For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or free; and in one Spirit we have all been made to drink. For the body also is not one member, but many” (1 Cor. 12:12-14). When we unite ourselves with Christ, it is not a dissolution of our self, quite to the contrary, it is when we become whole. For as St. Augustine wrote, “We are restless Lord, until we rest in you.” Man is only made whole united with others through God. We see this beginning with God bringing Adam to Eve and the message is repeated to the Israelites and culminates in Christ, the bridegroom and the Church, his Bride. Our faith is no private personal affair, but needs to be lived out in our community of faith with our brothers and sisters in Christ and radiate outward to the world. This is how the Christian mission began and needs to be continued.
So our day at beach was not merely leisure, but re-creation by coming together as a community to worship and share our time with one another in fellowship building up the body of Christ to be that light in the world we are called to be.