In some ways, the early Church as seen in the Book of Acts saw themselves as a “movement.” As the Body of Christ on earth, they saw themselves engaged in communicating the Good News of Jesus Christ to a world dwelling in darkness and lost. They saw this as the sole reason that Jesus came to earth. They understood themselves as continuing and representing what he began.
So, a parish community is just that: a movement of disciples of Jesus, the Body of Christ on earth in a given locality for the express purpose of communicating the Good News to lost people. We continue to do what Jesus did and represent Him.
So, then, the command of Jesus, “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”
As a movement, the early Church “moved”. They were not static. As a body of people, they dynamically engaged their regions, their neighbors, friends and family with the Gospel. This is important to understand what a parish is to be: a body of people on mission. As Pope Francis has recently stated we are called to be “missionary disciples.”
Fr. Dale