Word to the Wise
Saturday, October 25, 2008 - Saturday in the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
[Ephesians 4:7-16 and Luke 13:1-9]Rather, living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole Body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the Body's growth and builds itself up in love.
The "organic" vision of the Church as the Body of Christ is a major Pauline theme. It is also a mystery in many ways because there is more to the "body" than the physical parts of it. St. Paul makes it clear in 1 Corinthians 12 that even though the body has many parts and every part has its role to play and no part can do without all the others, in the end he speaks of a transcending "gift" (part?) which is love! (1 Cor 13!) That is not a part that can be identified in an anatomy class! I often speak in priests' retreats of the importance of helping everyone in the community to discover where their talents and gifts can be of the greatest value in building up the community. Some pastors are better at this than others, as we all know. The spectrum runs from pastors who believe that laity should "pray, pay and obey" to pastors who simply "disappear" and leave it up to parishioners to "duke it out!" My own experience tells me that the principal challenges are in the intangible but very real area of power! Who has a title? Which organization gets to have its own "room" where it can put its "stuff.?" A single disgruntled parishioner (or organization) can exercise a great deal of "power" by disruptive and negative talk or action! How can the gift of "love" have its binding force when the ruling dynamic in a community exists primarily in everyone trying to get a piece of the power pie? It doesn't have to be this way, but it takes a talented pastor to motivate and enable the community in the organic direction envisioned by St. Paul! The process of "discernment" that enables a person to determine where he/she fits best in the community can be a positive and encouraging experience (I've participated in some really good processes of this kind). But it can also become a political contest or popularity vote. If we "live the truth in love" our chances of success in creating a healthy Body of Christ, are increased tremendously. If we are concerned more with who has a "say-so," the Body is going to suffer. AMEN
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