As a body is one though it has many parts,
and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body,
whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.
Now the body is not a single part, but many.
As an educated man the Apostle Paul would have known of the ancient conundrum, "the one and the many." He could probably name the philosophers who had discussed it in Greek, Hebrew, Egyptian and Jewish. Alas, I was an English major and so can only make illiterate references to it. The question has to do with individuality and collectivism. How does one belong to family, neighbors, a company, school, race, or nation? Where do I belong among these groups? Is there anything about me that is not collectively owned by the group, that I can say, "This is me!" Americans pride themselves on their individuality and personal identity but desperately rush to conformity. Why is it that motorcyclists -- incarnations of Walt Whitman's "Song of the Open Road" and "I sing of myself" -- run in packs?
Saint Paul found a resolution to that question in his doctrine of the Body of Christ. It all began one day as he traveled to Damascus and was smote by a word from the Lord, "Saul, Saul, Why do you persecute me?" If the young Pharisee thought he was harassing Christians he learned that his opponent was the God who had "baptized into one body... Jews and Greeks, slaves and free persons." They were all "drinking of the one spirit." There was no more separation between these various persons than there could be between the hand and the arm or the foot and the ankle. To attack even one is to attack God himself.
Gradually, under the weight of common sense, our cult of individuality is disintegrating. We breathe the same air and eat the same food and inhabit the same space. We form communities to cultivate health and support groups to talk over our problems. We share germs and viruses, some of them make us better. If our new membership is tribal rather than business, family or church, we realize no one's thought is very original or personal. Social media are rapidly dissolving the barriers we thought kept us apart.
Saint Paul and his fellow missionaries invited slaves and free, men and women, Greeks and barbarians to be baptized into the Body of Christ. In the Lord and in the House of God, the lost individual would find his meaning and purpose, along with identity, satisfaction and assurance. The Spirit would guide them to that part of the body where each one belongs, as surely as white blood cells search out foreign agents in a human body. There would be difficulties, of course, as the Body is challenged. The Lord himself was crucified! But there would also be that daily awareness of the Resurrection, that "This is where I belong, these are my people, and we serve the Lord together."
In our time, when so many people struggle to discover who they are; and where and to whom they belong, the Gospel invites them to take your place in the House of God. Baptized, Eucharisted, Confirmed we thank God daily for this safe harbor while the storms rage around us.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.