The church militant

This post by John Barach deserves a read.

Yesterday afternoon at second service, we sang about the church militant. I like the imagery. Although we live in Christ's kingship, an age of unprecedented blessing, nonetheless the church still is, as Rev. Goris pointed out, the vanguard of the kingdom. At times, therefore, she must take up her knowledge of God, embody it in herself, and respond to those who would not kiss the Son (Psalm 2). She is the priest of God to the world.

This means that, at times, she must begin to actively identify and expel those who act as if Christ is not King, who deserve exile. She must, in other words, exercise the discipline that is hers to portray as the embodiment of Christ and of His kingdom. She must send to hell those who are making themselves rubbish in the midst of God's good re-creation.

The book John Barach reviews is about the Chilean Church's response to massive state-driven torture under General Pinochet. It reminds me that at times, the church must take up its identity in a clear and firm way - at times to die as God did in Christ, and at times to judge, as God did in Christ. Thus, she becomes the salt and light of the world.