Back in the old days, in the Quincy public schools, grades 7-9 were called junior high. In ninth grade, many of my classmates and I had Mr. Jack Buckley for history class. Mr. Buckley was a gifted teacher and storyteller who could draw you into any historical period of time, causing you to boo the villains, root for underdogs, and cheer on heroes, and have you wanting to know what happened next, even after the bell had rung. But his greatest gift was how he convinced each of us that we had some talent or gift that we should share with our class and the wider community.
I thought of Mr. Buckley as I read St. Paul’s letter to the Romans when he said, “We, though many, are one Body in Christ.” Mr. Buckley stressed the need to step up as role models, not only for the younger students, but for the school and our city. He convinced some to run for school office, others to be captains on sports teams, and others to enter oratorical contests, science fairs, or join the band or chorus, you name it. Before the first month was over, he had convinced a group of self-conscious fourteen-year-olds that we all had something to offer, and our class had a responsibility to share it.
Many Different Gifts
St. Paul is telling the Romans, and now us today, that through the grace of God, we, too, have a variety of gifts. We can see this beginning in our families, where some naturally notice when people need a pep talk or a helping hand. Others have a strong faith in God’s guiding presence in their lives, or perhaps it’s the gift of serving as a peacemaker when things go sideways in a stressful moment.
In my family, it was my Mom who saw the needs of others and quietly reached out and helped all sorts of people while making it fun as well as a teaching moment. My Dad was the one who could reduce the seemingly complicated and heated situations of family life to one or two sentences, and then it would seem possible to solve. He also possessed a God-given natural GPS; no matter where we went, he always found the way. My younger brother possessed a natural care for the poor and was the one who asked the hard questions about what was going on in the world and what the Catholic Church said about it. He was our young theological philosopher when I was only interested in the sports page. My parents and Mr. Buckley both preached that God has given us gifts to use not just for ourselves but for our families, friends, parishes, and even those we don’t yet know by name.
None of this is ever perfect, which is why St. Paul tells us to love sincerely, hate what is evil, hold on to what is good, and love one another with mutual affection. To not grow slack in zeal but to fervently serve the Lord. To rejoice in hope and endure affliction, to persevere in prayer.
One Body in Christ
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells us that “Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.” Like the man who invited many to a great dinner, God is inviting us as members of the Body of Christ to make time to pray, to listen, and to act on God’s will. If we take the time to know ourselves, our family members, neighbors, classmates, and fellow parishioners, we will see how much God has blessed us, and we will be able to encourage one another to share our gifts, as one Body in Christ, sometimes in ways that will surprise us, but that God intended all along.
May God bless our families who are our first teachers in what it means to be one Body in Christ.
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