Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
In general, it is my tendency to stress Christianity’s bodily nature. That is, Christianity is a faith that requires us to do certain things with our bodies. Unfortunately, many Christians think there is a dichotomy, or split, between the “body” and the “soul”, and even worse, that God really only cares for one of these. For these Christians, “salvation” is only about our souls, or what is “inside” or apart from our flesh (which is deemed “evil”). But we find something radically different in the life and teaching of Jesus. For example, Jesus’ followers were literally followers. His disciples imitated Jesus’ actions, touching lepers, sharing meals with the poor, giving to those who ask. These actions (also called the “Corporeal Works of Mercy”) reveal God’s salvation, now.
Again, this is my normal shtick.
Today’s reading reminded me of how important balance is. While it is heresy to give sole importance to the salvation of the soul, and subsequently considering the body as evil (literally, these ideas were condemned as heresy in the early Church), it is also equally problematic to give primacy to the body. Body and soul are together, and both must be nurtured, cultivated to bear fruit. In neglecting one, we are neglecting both.
This is why Paul’s words on circumcision and Jesus rebuking of the Pharisees are so important for us as followers of Christ. Will all who are circumcised be damned to hell? I should hope not. Paul’s criticism of circumcision is directed at those seeking to gain salvation through purely bodily means, while neglecting “faith working through love”. This phrase—“faith working through love”—unites body and soul, faith and action, as one unity. Similarly, Jesus rebuke is charged at those who do not hold body and soul, faith and action together.
For those of us who tend to stress the Christian requirement of action and practice, we must be reminded that such action divorced from an inner cultivation of faith leave us as little more than white-washed tombs. May we be jarred by the words of Christ, directed at us:
“Oh, you Pharisees!
Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish,
inside you are filled with plunder and evil.
You fools!
Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?
But as to what is within, give alms,
and behold, everything will be clean for you.”
- Tyler Delong