‘”The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.”‘ 2 Corinthians 13:14

Earlier this month I sat in a Baroque church in Central Europe. I was overwhelmed by the splendor displayed everywhere my eye alit. A sister in Christ leaned over, “If the Holy Spirit inspired man to create this much beauty, can you imagine what heaven will look like?” Boom!!! What a thought!

The sense of the love for God from His people was palpable in that place.

I thought of the fingers that carved the gilt work on the columns, the hands that cut each marble mosaic inlay and that placed every brush stroke on the marvelous frescoes. All for the glory of God! Their artistic expressions were their love offering to Him.

I thought of the myriad “saints that went before” who had sat in the same ornately carved walnut pew I now sat in, pouring their hearts out to their Redeemer, petitioning their Savior. Prayers offered to their sovereign God, overflowing with emotion and tears, passionately interceding for themselves and their loved ones. Their passion was their love offering to God.

PRAYERS RISING

These prayers from the past seemed to swirl around me like incense; rising up to God. I thought of the monks, nuns, worshippers who, for centuries, had sat in this very space. They sought God’s face and His favor. I felt intimately connected to them. This is the body of Christ that Paul talks about in Romans 12:5. “So we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.“ In the 5th Century, the concept of the communion of saints or “sanctorum communionem” became church doctrine and was included in the Apostles’ Creed.

In contrast to what I experienced in this house of worship, I have also been in churches where I definitely didn’t feel the presence of God. Instead these places felt sadly sterile, empty, void. These spiritually vacant sanctuaries bring to mind the verse from Revelation, when God is not only disappointed but repelled by the empty, lukewarm hearts of some worshipers. So much so, that he desired to spit them out! I love The Message’s graphic take on Revelation’s 3:15-16 “I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit.”

What happened in those churches? Why was there no feeling of the presence of the Holy Spirit? I don’t want my prayers to be tepid! Instead, I want them filled with the passion of my love for my Creator. I want to join in and add to the marvelous masterpiece of prayers of my spiritual forefathers! I want my prayers to be added as a stitch in the weaving of God’s magnificent, rich, holy tapestry that is the communion of saints.

ENCOURAGEMENT FROM SCRIPTURE

“When you sacrifice your communion sacrifice to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that it is acceptable on your behalf.” Leviticus 19:5 How? Simply with love.

I will be guided by Paul’s example in Phillipians 1:20, “My determination is to be my utmost for His Highest.”

“Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy! So you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:4 and 3.

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” 2 Corinthians 13:14