We hear the term “body of Christ” so often (every time we receive Holy Communion) that the richness of the term can be obscured. For St. Paul “body” was the best image of the Church on three levels. First, a body to be a body must be one, must be whole, must be a unity — so the Church. Second, a body is made up of different parts: feet, eyes, kidneys and liver. So the Church has different parts: Jew and Gentile, male and female, slave and free who all belong equally. Finally, each of those parts has a contribution to make: feet walk, eyes see, kidneys and liver do … whatever it is that kidneys and liver do. So the Church — each one of us must give our particular gift in order for the Church to be healthy.
