Word to the Wise
Tuesday, September 13, 2016 - Tuesday in the 24th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Cor 12:12-14, 27-31a and Luke 7:11-17]As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. Now the body is not a single part, but many. ....You are Christ's Body, and individually parts of it. [1 Corinthians]
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, bishop and doctor of the Church
On Sunday evening, I watched the men's final tennis match of the U. S. Open tournament. It was twice interrupted when one of the players required first aid for the big toe on one of his feet! (He also lost the match.) Little things can have a great impact when it comes to the human body. We know how distracting a small cut on the hand can be if we are trying to write, or an infected toenail when we are trying to walk. St. Paul's image of the Church as the Body of Christ, using the human body as his analogy, is one of his best (along with yeast and running).
Paul's image is aimed at trying to calm squabbling in the community over the relative importance of any particular role. He lists a number of them in order of importance, but points out that not everyone is called to serve in any of those roles. But they all have their part to play and a failure of even a small part can cause a great distraction. I experience this at various times when I preside at a parish Sunday liturgy. If one person in charge of something fails to show up, there can be quite a ruckus until some adjustment can be made! These liturgies have a lot of "moving parts!" On a larger level, I recall how one person with a problem can bring an entire group to a halt (even a two year old knows how to do this!)
St. Paul gives us a good thing to think about today. What role does any one of us play in our faith community? How well do we perform our given task? Is there any rivalry or competition? An aching toe can cause as much trouble as an aching head, but when both are healthy, a body can do great things! AMEN
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