From Many Parts to One Body: Paul's Vision for the Church
September 17, 2024 - Tuesday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
1 Cor 12:12-14, 27-31a
There are many metaphors that try to describe the mystery of the Church. From the Old Testament perspective, the Church is the People of God journeying through this world towards the Promised Land—the Heavenly Jerusalem. "Lumen Gentium," the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, begins its reflection on the mystery of the Church with the metaphor of light: "Christ is the Light of nations" (LG, 1). The metaphor that Paul often uses is the metaphor of the human body.
The human body is composed of organs, chemical elements, cells, and DNA. All of them are vital to the proper functioning of the body. Now, when we apply this metaphor to the Church, we immediately realize the importance of each faithful and the unity of all. The source of that unity is the sacrament of baptism through which each of us has been united with Christ and received the Spirit of Christ. Paul says: "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body" (1 Cor. 12:13). The importance of each faithful within the Church is highlighted by the charisms of the Holy Spirit bestowed on each one of us.
Paul mentions nine services—from the apostles to the interpretation of languages—for the common good of the Church. All of them are vital to the growth of the Church, but nobody can claim that they possess all of them. Thus, we need each other. Moreover, nobody can claim that their service is better or more important than the service of others. The Corinthian community was plagued by division and a desire for importance. But that is a worldly attitude. The heart does not claim to be more important than the liver or lungs. If the liver fails, the whole body dies. In a similar way, we should look at the mystery of the Church.
Saint Augustine, influenced by Saint Paul, developed a doctrine of "Totus Christus"—the whole Christ. According to that ancient Father of the Church, Christ and His Church together form "the whole Christ." Saint Augustine probably got this idea from reflecting upon the mystery of the incarnation: the Word of God united Himself to our humanity and became man. The identification of Christ with His Church is evident in the story of Saul's encounter with the risen Christ on the way to Damascus. Jesus said to him: "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" (Acts 9:4). The Lord did not ask, "why are you persecuting them" but "why are you persecuting me?"
Saint Augustine, in one of his homilies, preached: "Then let us rejoice and give thanks that we are made not only Christians, but Christ. Do you understand, brothers, and apprehend the grace of God upon us? Marvel, be glad, we are made Christ. For if he is the head, we are the members: the whole man is he and we. . . The fullness of Christ, then, is head and members. Head and members, what is that? Christ and the Church." (quoted in http://www.augnet.org/en/works-of-augustine/his-ideas/theology/2343-totus-christus/)
As the members of the Body of Christ, we want to see the Church grow. This can be achieved through evangelization and by the testimony of our lives. Instead of dividing our communities and striving for prominent positions, let us always keep in mind the good of the Church, the Body of Christ.