St. Paul gives us a wonderful image to reflect on this morning--the human body. Picture everything that is going on in our bodies this very instant so that we may simply live. Our heart is pumping blood through our arteries in order to nourish our muscles and this same blood is brought back to the lungs via the veins. Our digestive system is processing nutrients that we may be nourished. Our immune system is fighting off bacterias, viruses and diseases. Our endocrine system is making sure our bodily hormones and chemicals are in fine tune. We use our five senses to perceive the world around us.
Like the human body, the Church at this very moment has many activities going on that we don't even know about. There are nuns all over the world in cloister praying. There are priests in Africa making the rounds from village to village to feed their parishioners. The sick and homebound are offering their sufferings for us.
St. Paul is not saying the Church is like a body...He is saying it is a Body. In fact, the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ. We are atoms, cells, muscles and ligaments in the Body of Christ.
Sometimes I get confused when people say "The Church is wrong about x, y or z." When thinking like that some think the Church is something outside and different than me. The Church is not a bunch of Bishops in Rome. The Church is all of us united. Saying the Church is wrong would be like an elbow saying to the brain, "You got that one wrong, chap." Good luck with that, Mr. Elbow.
Jesus says to a dead man today, "I say to you, arise." Christ's Mystical Body, His Church, says the same today. As we go about our day, trusting that we are members of His Body, say to the people we interact with, "Arise."
Like the human body, the Church at this very moment has many activities going on that we don't even know about. There are nuns all over the world in cloister praying. There are priests in Africa making the rounds from village to village to feed their parishioners. The sick and homebound are offering their sufferings for us.
St. Paul is not saying the Church is like a body...He is saying it is a Body. In fact, the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ. We are atoms, cells, muscles and ligaments in the Body of Christ.
Sometimes I get confused when people say "The Church is wrong about x, y or z." When thinking like that some think the Church is something outside and different than me. The Church is not a bunch of Bishops in Rome. The Church is all of us united. Saying the Church is wrong would be like an elbow saying to the brain, "You got that one wrong, chap." Good luck with that, Mr. Elbow.
Jesus says to a dead man today, "I say to you, arise." Christ's Mystical Body, His Church, says the same today. As we go about our day, trusting that we are members of His Body, say to the people we interact with, "Arise."
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