Weekly Bible Study - 1 Corinthians 6:13-20

18 January 2015

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time  

There are so many ways we speak of the body of Christ. Think about it: We think of Christ’s body as a baby in his mother's arms and as a grown man, broken and bruised for humankind’s salvation. We revere the eucharistic bread transformed into the real presence, the Body of Christ. We celebrate and worship as members of the mystical Body of Christ, the church. We believe in the resurrection of Christ’s body and await in hope our own transformation. We may even see in two bodies becoming one flesh the sacred symbolism of Christ’s union with the church. All of these realities bespeak a “body” that is unmistakably sacred.

So why not keep holy our own bodies? The bodies we so often forget to honor and protect are made in the image and likeness of God. The Apostle Paul characterizes our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit!

Paul "tells it like it is" here, giving spiritual advice to the infant community at Corinth (in Greece):"The body is ... for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body."

The way we use our bodies must reflect our membership in Christ’s Body, the church. In another letter, Paul reminds the Ephesians (in modern day Turkey) about the importance of nourishing and cherishing the body in the same way that Christ cares for the church. So it is clear: It is simply good Christian practice to care for our own bodies—and the bodies of others, by treating them honorably—simply because we are members of Christ's Body.

When we think of our material bodies, do we, as followers of Christ, automatically place our bodies in the context of our unity with the Body of Christ? This unity is so complex and rich that it deserves prayerful consideration. How are we united with Christ’s incarnate body? His crucified, saving body? His body, the church, in mystical communion? His glorified and resurrected body?

If we keep always in mind our sacred connection to the Body of Christ, would we ever even consider dishonoring or abusing our bodies (or the bodies of others)?

The author, Ms. Barbara Gawle, Class of 2001, leads Bible studies at her parish, Incarnation Church of Wethersfield, CT. She is the 2012 recipient of the Biblical School's highest award, the Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal.