Word to the Wise
Saturday, October 27, 2012 - Saturday in the 29th Week in Ordinary Time
[Eph 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 human body is a marvel of creation and serves as a metaphor for many things. One could hardly find a better example of "interdependence," where even one small part can affect the whole in dramatic ways. From a toothache to an ingrown toenail, we know how the rest of the body is impacted! And that is simply on the physiological level. Philosophically, we realize that in this life, the body is the way in which we are "present" to the world. We can see it as something we "have" or "own" or as something we "are." We can view it as a kind of container for the "soul" or as a single unified reality. St. Paul uses the human body as an image for the church and identifies it with the body of Christ! Big books are written about all of this, so I'm just touching the surface of the theology! I will simply call attention to a couple of things in the lines I have highlighted above, although I urge my readers to go through the whole passage and then read 1 Cor. 12:12 - 13:13.
In the course of preaching parish missions, I witness a considerable variety of communities! A quick glance at a Sunday bulletin can reveal how much is "going on" in a parish. There will be a list of various councils and committees and ministries of all kinds with cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses! The Sunday liturgy will reveal all kinds of ministries that must cooperate with one another to create a good "worship experience!" When all these elements function well, a parish is a good example of "living the truth in love." However, we know from the letters of St. Paul and from our own experience that just like the human body, a community is subject to human faults and foibles as well. Someone forgets it's "their turn" to do something. A musician misses a "cue." An usher gets a bit too "bossy." To live the truth in love, we must recognize that no "body" is perfect but we do the best we can so that the greatest gift of "love" does shine through. We may be limping from time to time, but we manage to get the message across. The Body of Christ is made up of the many "bodies" of faithful Christians! AMEN