Many Parts, One Body

At my job, aside from one or two people who are close to 40, all of my coworkers are at least twice my age.  This means one thing.  Every day, I can guarantee that I will be called into someone’s office to help them with a computer/technology issue or answer a question about how to do something in Microsoft Office or Outlook email.  On the other hand, working with people who are a bit older than me means that there is a lot I can learn.  Having coworkers who are middle-aged means they have more life experience.  They offer advice, career tips, and wisdom on work and life in general.  We are all connected and all have different things to offer and provide to our place of work in order to fulfill the mission of the organization and complete the job.  It is no different in our faith and in the Church.

Every year at my church, there is a retreat called Christian Experience Weekend, also known as CEW.  It is a retreat for anyone 18 and older.  However, once I turned 18, I didn’t immediately jump aboard and sign up.  The way I looked at it, even though it was open to those at least 18, it was a retreat that a bunch of moms and middle-aged or older people attended.  I had rarely heard of any “young” people attending except for usually an occasional one or two per retreat.  How could I connect to a bunch of women who had kids, and enjoyed things like baking and gardening for fun??  For two years, several different people invited me personally to attend the retreat, some even offering to pay the small retreat fee for me.  After coming up with a reason I couldn’t go or saying I would think about it, I finally gave in when I was 20.  And I’m glad I did.  All of the people on the retreat were at different points in their lives.  We all had different experiences, thoughts to share, and gifts to bring.  It didn’t matter that we were all different ages.  What mattered is that we were all connected by Christ and through our faith.  We were all a part of the body of Christ.  That is the beautiful thing. 

We can all learn from each other.  We can be inspired, encouraged and given wisdom and knowledge about faith from one another.  Furthermore, we need each other.  We all have different ideas, thoughts, experiences, and gifts.  God works in our lives in different ways and fills our hearts differently.  As we heard in this weekend’s second reading “there are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit….As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:4, 12).  We each have a role and are each called to participate alongside each other within the Body of Christ.  While we are all unique individuals with different experiences, we are only truly whole when we are part of the Body, united as a community and to Christ.

Sometimes, it might seem easier for us to live inside our own little bubbles; for young people to stray from those who are older and for those who are older to dismiss younger people.  The Church needs all of us right now, at this exact moment.  Not just a little later and not in the future.  We are all tasked with sharing Christ’s love and the Church’s teachings and to help each other along the way no matter what age we are.  May we all see each other as important parts of the Body of Christ and always realize the bond we have through Him.