Jesus Makes Surprising Connections. 

Many years ago I gave Communion to a guy at Mass I recently had served at a homeless shelter. And this hit me: he and I not only share the body of Christ, we also were part of the Body of Christ.

A homeless man and I, part of the same body. It really made me think – just like this week’s Gospel. Christ our king says we serve him when we serve the people considered least in our world. God’s Spirit lives in them. God’s Spirit also lives in us. Thus, the connection: we are all part of the same body, the Body of Christ.

The child starving in Africa. The kid without friends. The man begging on the street corner. The old woman alone. The prisoner serving a sentence. And you and I. All part of the same body. That means we have to change our thinking at times. When our stomachs hurt, we ask why. We might spend time and money for treatment. We rarely judge or ignore it. But we sometimes treat parts of our spiritual body – the Body of Christ – differently when they suffer. “I’m too busy to visit,” some might say as they pass a nursing home where so many suffer loneliness. “They shouldn’t have broken the law,” some might say about people in prison.

Our spiritual body stretches around the world. When parts of it suffer, let’s take the time to understand why and relieve the pain. The Body of Christ SERVES the Body of Christ to BECOME the Body of Christ.

Anonymous

What connections or similarities have you seen between yourself and people you’ve met who are hurting or in need?