Word to the Wise
Saturday, October 23, 2010 - Saturday in the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
[Ephesians 4:7-16 and Luke 13:1-9]And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God.........
Although I am not a health care professional and have not studied human anatomy in any formal sense, my own anatomy reminds me every day that somehow all the parts are related to one another. If nothing else, worrying about how one part is NOT working impacts the whole way I go about getting through my day! I have had surgery seven times and know that just an ordinary but nonetheless painful hernia repair can make the whole body slow down till the repaired part heals! Those who are prone to migraine headaches (I am not one of them, thank goodness!) know that one of those headaches can put a person out of commission for days. The occasional issue of National Geographic Magazine, with its vivid anatomical cartoons reinforces to me the wonder and mystery of the human body. St. Paul seems to have been fascinated with the image of human body as an analogy for the community of faith. His First Letter to the Corinthians (ch 12:12-31) is an extended reflection on the analogy of the body to the various roles that individuals might play in the "Body of Christ." Today in the Letter to the Ephesians, he gives a shorter version of that analogy. The image in Ephesians, however, reminds us that there are certain roles that place individuals in leadership concerning various aspects of the life of the community. When I go to a parish nowadays to preach a parish mission, I often pick up a copy of the Sunday bulletin and look at the list of names and titles. In a large parish, that list can be a long one! There are pastors, parochial vicars, deacons, secretaries, coordinators of this and directors of that, catechists, etc. etc. There are organizations like the Knights of Columbus, Guadalupanas, Legion of Mary.......As someone who has been a pastor both in university parishes and a Hispanic inner city parish, I can testify that it is not easy to keep track of all that is going on, any more than I can give detailed attention to everything happening to my own body! I do know that when parts of the parish community get into conflict with each other, the whole reality can be impacted. Each part of the body is essential to the whole. Not all of us will have to serve in a leadership role, but faith and love connect us with one another and enable us to realize that we are all life-givers to the church. AMEN
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