Oikos – Household of God
We are quite familiar with the word church. We know what it means. But if we were to ask others what they mean by church, and how they feel about the word, we would find a whole range of meanings and emotions, from positive to negative.
The Royal Commission into institutional abuse has given the word church a very negative connotation. But when I think of Immanuel Woden Valley Lutheran Church I am filled with warmth and joy. That shows you how varied our response can be.
Because we have such a variety of reactions to the word church – some not good at all – here at Immanuel we are going to start using a new word for church, one of the original Greek words, Oikos.
The word Oikos shows up in a number of places in the Bible. And every time it means house or household. Ephesians 2:19 says “You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of the household of God”. The household of God that’s what Christ has made us and it reminds us that we are members of the household even when we are not in the house: ‘church’ is not just Sunday morning.
“Household” suggests: belonging, community, not being alone, security, closeness, warmth, tears and laughter, hospitality, openness to others, and playing your part.
God wants everyone in Canberra (and the world) to know they belong to his household. He has established it through Jesus Christ. So everyone can experience it. But not everyone knows this great news. Let’s join together in letting others know about the oikos?