Word to the Wise
Tuesday, November 7, 2023 - Tuesday in the 31th Week in Ordinary Time
[Rom 12:5-16ab and Luke 14:15-24]We, though many, are one Body in Christ and individually parts of one another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them....Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection....[Romans]
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2023 TUESDAY IN THE 31ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME.
[Romans 12:5-16ab and Luke 14:15-24. Today is also the feast of All Saints of the Order of Preachers. A reflection on the scriptures for that day can be found through the search feature at my website <www.rbwords.com>. Just type in "All Saints of the Order of Preachers."]
We, though many, are one Body in Christ and individually parts of one another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them....Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection....[Romans]
This passage from the Letter to the Romans is a beautiful exhortation that could be addressed to any Christian community at any point, not just in first century Rome. The essential points are that the Body of Christ is a single reality composed of all the believers in Jesus. We are all related to one another in faith, hope and love. Although each of us is gifted individually, we are challenged to share those gifts as if we were one body together. As St. Paul says elsewhere, "The hand cannot say to the eye, I do not need you...." [1 Cor. 12:21-27]
This teaching runs counter to the individualism that has characterized Euro-American culture since the Renaissance and Enlightenment movements. It is certainly one of the defining features of American culture nowadays. Individual freedoms are fiercely asserted and defended. We tend to resist the collective, even if as children, we are exhorted to practice "teamwork." Pastors are well aware of this in trying to bring a parish together so that it can be a collective witness. The Bishops of the United States have published a document entitled "Communities of Salt and Light" in an effort to encourage the development of a sense of community in a parish instead of a kind of spiritual Wal-mart!
The "Body of Christ" seems so large and diverse that it is a challenge to "find community" within it. But the Lord, whose body on earth we are, calls us to that challenge. AMEN
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