Our “today” is different from the “today” of ancient Israel. While they were a people who wept and rejoiced in the hearing of the law, we are a people incorporated into the Body of Christ. The first century Judeans were individual members of a community, but we are interrelated members of the same Body of Christ. We are all dependent upon each other. Saint Paul explains what this means in detail in our second reading.
American society tends to celebrate the individual, to prize the pioneering spirit. But as Christians we are asked to see things differently than the rest of the world. There are no individuals there is only the one undivided Body. Those qualities that separate us, our different-ness, is not for us as individuals, but is intended for the good of the entire Body.
All of our gifts, talents, and abilities are not given to us for our own use. They are pieces of a whole, and all are necessary for the Body to function properly.
As we live in the ever present “today” of Christ, we live for Him, and for each other. Each of us has been given a specific task, a task that is necessary and irreplaceable for the well being of the entire community. When we accept this task, when the foot stops trying to be an eye and sees the value in being a foot, then we truly begin to live outside of ourselves, in love for all and for the One.
Pax Vobiscum
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time