The Sign of the Cross

Again this morning in church we were positioned directly opposite the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, and as I made the sign of the Cross, it occurred to me that I was outlining, on my body, the principal instrument by which her Son had been tortured and killed, with her looking on all the while. The Cross was the metaphorical sword that pierced her heart. And yet - miracle! - to make the sign of the Cross in front of her does not offend or insult her or hurt her feelings. Indeed, she no doubt made it on her own body more often than I do, and perhaps still does. For her, as for us, the greatest sorrow has become the greatest treasure and joy.

Church, Scripture, Theotokos

The Church is Christ. She is not something else, of which Christ is merely the Head and His followers are the Body.

Instead, what it means to speak of Christ as the Head and Christians as the Body is that Christ includes His followers, incorporates us into Himself. It is by incorporation into Christ that we are members of the Church. The Church is “the fullness of Him, who fills all in all.” Christ is not “full” without all His members.

It is because the Church is Christ we do not say the Bible has authority over her; for what can have authority over God? Or if heterodox teaching were true, and the Church were some other entity than Christ, larger than Christ, notice, because Christ would be merely her Head instead of her whole, then even more so must we ask, what could have authority over an entity larger even than Christ?

Rather, Scripture has authority in the Church. That's a huge distinction.

It’s because we are members of Christ’s Body that the Most Holy Theotokos is the mother of us all, she who gave birth to that Body.