Merciful Cooperation

A Reflection on the Second Reading for August 30th, 2020:
​Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Romans
12.1-2

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect.
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Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

At times I need to turn a blind eye to the world in order to discern God’s will for me in it. I need quiet prayer, time in Christian fellowship, immersion in His Word, discernment with a capital D. Other times, God draws my eyes toward the wrongs of the world rather than away from them in order to converge my heart with His.


What is the response God desires from me when I see injustice—income disparity, abuse, immorality? Sometimes I think I understand a portion of what my Father desires to do through me, but I’m not confident I understand the entirety of the response He seeks when I take these things in.


With His courage, I took some time this week to allow myself to feel the pain of it all—and the pain brought with it many tears. I often feel overwhelmed with the weight of all the need in this world, and then become paralyzed by it, not knowing where to begin to help alleviate it. But is it my job to eradicate every suffering? No—God is sovereign, not me. I can only, in humility, present my body. Because as Christians, if we’re walking this journey well, my brothers and sisters have also presented their bodies.


As I see it, we have all been entrusted with a small area of the Body of Christ to first make a sacrifice for, and by that sacrifice, build up the other members of the Body. When I take the time to listen to the ways my brothers and sisters are beautifully nurturing others, much of the weight on my shoulders dissolves, and opportunities for cooperation present themselves. Each and every one of us who understands our mission to love the other, does just that. And we do it in the most beautiful, unique, and creative ways. Ways in which I alone couldn’t achieve. Ways in which we were each uniquely designed to do.


As all the members of the Body operate out of their original design, incredible good can be accomplished. And our sacrifices, though often difficult to relinquish, feed not only the recipient of the sacrifice, but our very own souls—because His mercy flows through our sacrifice.


In the end, I believe the true call to holiness involves both looking into the pain and suffering this world presents us with, and then, through prayer and discernment, offering our gifts in cooperation with the gifts of others to lift even the smallest sting of hurt from the life of a soul.


Saint Teresa of Ávila articulated this concept beautifully when she wrote:


Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which He looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world.


Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are His body.


Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.




Lori MacDonald

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