Our Lord did indeed come to fulfill what had been prophesied, that there would be justice for the poor, liberty for those who were oppressed or were captives, healing to many, and the promise of a time that would be acceptable to the Lord. He spoke of what He was bringing about then, but He also foretold what He would continue to bring through the mystical body that He would see maintained here on earth, even after His ascension back to the Father. I speak of the mystical Body of Christ, a body that each of us who believes in Him are a part of.
As we are all called to be part of the Body of Christ here on earth, so we are called to continue His work, and to do so in unison, just as the parts of a human body work together when all is well to do all that is needed to prosper and to grow, and to be healthy. There is no part of the body that is not important. If there are some that seem humbler to us in their stature than others, that is a problem of perception that is of our own making. All are important, and all are equal in their contributions and their inherent dignity. Those who perhaps feel they are one of the parts perceived as humbler or less accepted at times are feeling this perhaps due to what they have been exposed to from others, through a lack of compassion or respect, or in some cases through their own lack of acceptance of themselves. We hear much today about how people are choosing new ways to identify, and that they insist on being called by certain labels or they otherwise feel less than accepted. There is nothing wrong with perhaps wanting to be recognized by others in ways that are respectful of who we are, but we also need to be honest about who we actually are, and what that entails. We can choose how we shape our character; we can choose how we interact with others; we can choose whether to love or to hate, and we can choose whether to accept our role as members of the body of Christ. What we cannot choose is whether we are a creation of God, what He actually formed us to be, and whether He loves us. He does in fact love each of us, and He created us each in a unique and wonderful guise that is designed to be part of the body of Christ and to participate in it fully, even when we don’t always feel like we know what our role is. Our lack of understanding of who we are and what our role is does not change its existence in the least. We simply need to be willing to be humble and accept that we do not have all the answers and instead of giving up, or falling away, or living in a perpetual falsehood, look to the one who does have the answers for us, and seek His help.
Our Lord loves each of us, and He desires each of us to be close to Him in a loving relationship, and to participate in His body here on earth to the full. He does not say it will always be easy, or that we will not feel fear, confusion, or uncertainty along the way. What He does say is that He wants us, all of us. He wants us to be fulfilled, and to be accepted lovingly within His body, and to thrive within it. He asks that we trust Him, and to follow Him even if others do not seem as accepting. He will address all of this, because He understands that each of us, and I do mean each and every one of us, comes to Him broken in some way, and in need of His mercy and healing, and this is especially true of those who sometimes seem to us to be the most unapproachable and difficult to exist with – these traits are usually sure marks of those who have been their own hurt and experienced their own lack of acceptance. We need to trust that He will heal this, and we each need to strive to be part of that healing by collectively addressing the part of the body that is not acting in harmony with the rest. If we do this collectively, and prayerfully, and with His guidance, we can bring about healing and unity within the body. We can come together and be accepted and accepting, be loved as we love, and while we may function as individual parts – be one within His body.
The Deacons Bench 