Word to the Wise
Tuesday, September 17, 2024 - Tuesday in the 24th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Cor 12:12-14, 27-31a and Luke 7:11-17]Now you are Christ's Body, and individually parts of it. Some people God has designated in the Church to be , first, Apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then, mighty deeds; then gifts of healing, assistance, administration, and varieties of tongues. Are all Apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers: Do all work mighty deeds? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. [1 Corinthians]
St. Paul's theology of the Body of Christ is a profound reality but it requires a lot of effort to make it manifest physically, psychologically, or spiritually! To use a popular analogy, a Christian "community" has a lot of moving parts! And those "parts" are all human! Ask any pastor or religious superior! Someone may be gifted in a number of ways and be more fond of one of two of those ways, but the needs of the community may be directed to a way that the individual is less fond of!! That is when leadership, along with the community, has to "discern" and ask that someone to take on a task they have a knack for but don't like to do!! Those less "glamorous" roles, especially the administrative ones, can be vital to enabling the more "glamorous" ones to be exercised. Disappointment can cripple a community when a vital but less visible job is poorly done because of resentment.
A parish, campus ministry or monastery or even a simple bible study group all need those various "gifts" that St. Paul mentions. (That list is not exhaustive!) It is a mistake to load all the "duties" on one or two persons. And when leadership is incapable of discerning and delegating, the whole community suffers from breakdown at the highest level. I know from my own experience in ministry and religious community that from time to time I have been asked to take on a job or task that I was not attracted to but the leadership believed I was fully capable of doing. Keeping the whole Body, and not just mine, in mind is the only way to respond to the challenge. The Body of Christ, like the Lord himself, is an incarnate reality, not a nice theological abstraction! AMEN