Christ in corporate expression

I now understand what is meant when we say that the Church is Christ in corporate expression. This weekend, visiting family in Kansas, I kept thinking of someone who was missing: Grandma. She is someone who was once with us physically, but no longer is. She is someone who bound us together as a family - what we had in common was her - her life, her genes, her humor, her expressions, her love. She brought us all joy. There are signs - likenesses, really - of Grandma in each of us. Mom says some of the same things, Uncle Bud resembles her in some way, my great Aunt Liddy knew her nearly 90 years... Being together as a family, I don't see her, yet in a way I do see her! I kept seeing her face in my mind. All together we are her life, her character, the ones she built love and encouragement into. If you could be with us, you would know that we had been with her. We are Dorothy in corporate expression.

And ultimately, as Church, we are Christ in corporate expression. That is way more beautiful and understandable than I ever realized.