[THO] Comblin Rocks!

For an Ecclesiology course I am taking we read a couple of chapters from José Comblin's People of God (Orbis, 2004). What an awesome book! We are studying Lumen Gentium (Vatican II) and as with other Vatican II documents it is a good start but doesn't go far enough. Comblin details how Ratzinger and others undermined the metaphor for People of God from the obvious focus in Lumen Gentium. He also talks about why it is such a critical image for talking about the Church. Lumen Gentium takes some really radical leaps towards inclusivity and People of God gives a framework for understanding these leaps. Comblin might be pressing his point, but it would be far better to err on the side of inclusivity than on the side of exclusivity. The idea of Church as Communion is taken up as an alternative to People of God, both ideas are needed, but favouring Church as Communion says loud and clear this is an exclusive experience. To be fair there is also an emphasis of Body of Christ also given favour in recent Roman thought, but this emphasis is also on the exclusive end. That tension between exclusivity and inclusivity is something precious that we need to hold on to. The exclusive formulations tend to favour the outdated hierarchical structures and close down possible ecumenical dialogue - exactly the opposite spirit of mother church in Lumen Gentium. The inclusive formulations throw wide the possibilities and seek common ground from which helpful dialogue can spring. Yes we should hold on to our distinctives, but being grounded in who we are does not need to be used to destroy who others are. People of God is an important concept from Lumen Gentium, and indeed for the church in this moment of history. Kudos to Comblin for making sure we don't forget this!