Critical to the Body Of Christ

Today Homily October 23 TUESDAY

29TH Week In Ordinary Time Year-B

Bible Readings: Eph 2:12-22; Lk 12:35-38

Have you ever watched an operation in a hospital with real blood and real sutures? I have. It was an operation for a kidney transplant. I saw what Mark, a good friend of mine, had to go through when he gave his kidney to his brother George. Mark made a big sacrifice, for people without kidneys can’t survive. You can live without your eyes, your ears, the use of your hands or legs, but not without pancreas, kidney or liver. And yet, because we don’t see these hidden parts of our body, we easily forget how critical they are to life. Likewise, many people who are well-to-do in the Church, which is the body of Christ, do not seem to take notice of those who are hurting in the same body. Referring to the fact that the Gentiles converted to Christianity became part of the body of Christ as the Jews were, St Paul wrote that Christ through the cross united them “in one body” (Eph 2:16). If so, how much greater unity should exist among the baptised Christians? How can the well to do in the Church close their eyes on those who are hurting, as if they are of no consequence? The truth is that the Church can’t survive as the body of Christ without the needy, the weak and the vulnerable, for they give the rest of the body of Christ an opportunity to serve while offering their own sufferings for the welfare of that body.