Homily from 1-23-22

“Many gifts, same Spirit!” Saint Paul continues his teaching on our “connectedness” this week with a “spiritual anatomy” lesson. “As a body is one though it has many parts, so also Christ.” (1 Cor 12:12) There is no mistaking his message- we are different, but we are all called to be one! Unfortunately, if we applied this passage to our society today, the body would be pretty dismembered! There are many parts of our country, our Church, our families and our relationships who are making decisions about not belonging to the body. Leaving, withdrawing, divisiveness, personal justification due to opinion and wants, and the like, are all excuses. We seem to have forgotten the “us” and the “we” in favor of “me”! It is going to take some grace-filled healing for the Divine Physician to restore health and wholeness to this fractured and injured body of humanity. St. Paul exhorts us “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.” But he precedes that line with this sobering thought: “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.” Whatever our differences we cannot deny that we share a common existence in Christ Jesus.