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Blessed Pope John Paul II dedicated 127 Wednesday audience talks to the subject of the human body!! It has been published as THE THEOLOGY OF THE BODY, and is dense reading. It is also rewarding reading if a person is willing to make the effort. We human beings tend to think of the body as a sort of container for the "self" or the "soul" as some of the ancient Greek philosophers did. They were very much aware of the fact that the body aged and provided appetites that could lead to destructive behavior. They also felt there was something transcendent about the human person that did not decay like the human body. St. Paul did not share that Greek way of thinking. He approached human anthropology from a unified perspective. For Paul, after death, there was no disembodied spirit, but a glorified resurrection body, like that of Jesus.

Although the human body, in St. Paul, is destined for great things, we can nullify that destiny by living in a manner incompatible with our faith. The second scripture today gives us a snippet of a much larger picture in St. Paul's teaching. Corinth was a seaport and all kinds of human depravity were available. The new Christian community had to understand that Christian commitment meant discipline of the body/spirit so that the old ways of living did not take over again. Our own modern situation is not that much different. We cannot separate out our faith from our conduct as if religion is a separate compartment and behavior in such matters as sex, substance or money have nothing to do with faith!!! When he speaks of the price paid for us he is speaking of Christ's death for us. To cheapen that action on our behalf by treating our own bodies and the bodies of others as objects to be abused or sold is contrary to our faith. Christ became human for our sakes. As St. Paul puts it, we must "glorify God in our body." AMEN