Encountering the Body of Christ
This is a remarkably busy weekend: Pride Parade, Juneteenth, Father’s Day, and the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). Then, of course, there is all of the drama and angst of the January 6th hearings, the ongoing war in Ukraine, inflation, bear markets, devastating floods and a heat wave in the southwest. There are any number of issues that could be discussed in light of the Body of Christ – depending on how the conversation is framed.
The Readings for this Sunday are from Genesis 14: 18-20, 1st Cor. 11:23-26, and Luke 9: 11b-17. We could focus narrowly on the gift of the Eucharistic meal, the Body and Blood of Christ, received in the Eucharistic celebration, or we could think about the larger Body, the Body of Christ as the church at work in the world. We could also consider Jesus, whose Body and Blood is made present. The larger body, the People of God – the Church – has many needs and much to concern itself with. The Sacramental Body is stowed carefully away until needed by the ministry of the institutional church, while the physical body of Jesus has long since been subsumed into the hereafter. Of these three bodies it is easiest to pay attention to the Sacramental Body, however, the three bodies are dependent on one another. Without the physical body of Jesus of Nazareth present to teach his disciples in the first century there would be no reason to consider the other two bodies today; without the Eucharistic Body and Blood, the Body of Christ present as the People of God, the Church, would cease to exist; and without the Body of Christ present as the Church, the work and the knowledge of Jesus of Nazareth could not continue - for we are his hands and feet in the world.
I believe that without any one of the three ‘bodies’ I have mentioned, the followers of Jesus would be lost to time and memory. I also believe that the three are equally important and that if one body is weak, it weakens the rest. In spite of this, it seems to me that theologians and the institutional church have too often emphasized one over the others.
Jesus of Nazareth, the ‘original body’ of the bodies in question, through his words, but most importantly through his life, taught us how to care for the bodies of one another, how to live the reality that everyone is important, is made in the image of God, and is loved by God. Many of the most serious problems of our world today; war, hunger, poverty, violence, hate, sexism, racism, (and all the ‘isms’) would be minimized if not eliminated if people were to live by the teachings of Jesus (or the teachings of any of the great spiritual teachers including Moses, Muhammad, the Buddha, the Dalai Lama etc.) I speak specifically of Jesus, but I do not discount the Divine expressed in other religions or traditions.
The challenge seems to be that the work of attending to other people and to creation is too difficult, or unpleasant, or perhaps less profitable, or less holy than caring for the Sacramental Body and Blood. Thus there are many guidelines and some strict rules about the Sacrament: who can confect it, how it should be housed, who can receive it etc., while the ‘bodies’ that make up the People of God, and others living in the world can be neglected, passed by, or excluded whenever it is more convenient, efficient, or less costly or time consuming to do so. This happens even though it is clear from the teachings of Jesus that caring for real people – living bodies - in real time is a critical part of being Christian.
It is not easy to step outside the me-first culture we live in, in order to put others ahead of ourselves. We are inundated with cautions and fears that keep us from connecting with other people: We shouldn’t talk to strangers. We shouldn’t give money to people. We should keep enough money in our bank accounts to keep us going for months – or years – or in case of an emergency, even when other people have needs in the current moment. But John the Baptist said that if you have two coats you should give one to the person who has none, and that the same goes for food. (Luke 3:11) Jesus joined John’s movement and later told those who fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, comforted the sick and visited the imprisoned that they would be welcomed into his Kingdom. (Mathew 25:35-36) This all seems pretty clear. We are to care for others.
I have more than one coat. I have food for more than one day. I have funds for some time to come, and yet it has felt traumatic at times to part with even a little of what I have. For me, the felt trauma is a call for action, and so I have forced myself over time to act in opposition to the culture that I live in. Yes, I give money away. I believe that if I have it and someone asks, I should give them what I can. I do try to use good judgement. I don’t carry lots of money, I never have, but carrying a few dollar bills, or with inflation a couple of fives, feels right to me. Usually, the people who ask are not expecting your whole bank account, they are asking for something to tide them over. I supplement this direct giving with donations directed toward long-term change. Letting go of a five-dollar bill was difficult at first, but over time it became easier, and began to feel right.
The other day I was leaving to go on a walk when I stopped to pull some of the humungous weeds growing on the street side of my fence. A man on a bicycle stopped and offered himself as a landscaper who could get the whole fence line cleared in a couple of hours. We chatted a little and then I asked this earnest stranger what he charged. He agreed to come back after my walk and the result was that my fence line looks great and a man who was a stranger turned out to be a diligent worker whose life had been more difficult than my own. As we were gathering up tools, he asked me a few questions about the work I had done before retiring which led us to a conversation about faith. Turns out I had met his mother. She managed a Christian ministry caring for unwed moms, at a time when I was trying to aid a mother-to-be who was without a home. A stranger, work to be done, and common connections in the Body of Christ – it was something for me to reflect on.
I will be grateful tomorrow to receive the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist in the company of a community that works hard to live as Jesus taught, to be inclusive, and to share what it has. Some members of the community will be at the Pride Parade. Some will be attending Juneteenth Celebrations, some will be barbecuing with their fathers, and some of us will be holding down the fort so to speak, but our connections will be strengthened as we act on the teachings of Jesus, the ‘original’ Body of Christ, who nourishes us through the Sacrament, through one another, and by way of holy actions.