I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen
When we Christians profess our belief in “the communion of saints,” we’re acknowledging that our relationships in the kingdom of God transcend other forms of human connection. Although it’s hard to imagine, in Christ we have stronger connections with other Christians—even those we don’t know—than we do with our natural family, fellow citizens, or ethnic group. We sometimes overlook, however, how the phrase reminds us that our connection with one another stretches across time as well. The author of the sermon-letter to the Hebrews tells his congregation that during worship we commune not only with “God, the judge of all,” but also with “the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven” and “the spirits of the righteous made perfect” (Heb. 12:23). Our worship transcends the time and space in which we worship. We have true fellowship not only with God but also with those men and women who died in faith before us, and who are surrounded by innumerable angels in festal gathering.
There is great comfort in this truth for those who are facing death, either their own or someone they love. All of us will, sooner or later, go the way of all the earth, but our communion with one another will never end. In 1 Corinthians 10:17, Paul tells us that our participation in the Lord’s Supper ensures that we are participants in Christ’s own body and blood: every time we partake of the bread and wine, we participate with the risen Lord and his body, here on earth and in heaven. This was why Paul exhorted the immature Christians of Corinth to flee from sexual immorality and to pursue peace and unity within the church. A real bond existed between them and the risen Lord, and he didn’t want them to pollute that bond by their sin and strife. For those of us who are staring down that last enemy, there should be great comfort in the fact that our union with one another is secure even after the ravages of death have done their worst.
Pop culture encourages us to speak of loved ones who have died as still being present with us in some sense: their spirit is present or they’re looking down from heaven. The Bible gives us an even greater comfort and measure of union with our friends and family who have died: We still worship with one another! And our worship, even though it is now separated by the vale of tears, unites us to one another just as it unites us to God.
Eric Landry is executive editor of Modern Reformation magazine.
