By Allison Auth
“O taste and see that the Lord is good.” ~ Psalm 34:8
Taking Care of Our Bodies
There’s an awesome meme on the internet that summarizes the first reading: “One time in the Bible, Elijah was like, ‘God, I’m so mad! I want to die!’ God said, ‘Here’s some food. Why don’t you have a nap?’ So Elijah slept, ate, and decided things weren’t so bad. Never underestimate the spiritual power of a nap and a snack.”
It’s humorous but points to the deeper reality that our body and soul are intrinsically united. What happens to our body affects our soul and vice versa.
I learned this lesson profoundly after becoming a mom. With all the physical changes that took place, I needed to take care of my body in order to “live in love,” as St. Paul says in the second reading. Having gestational diabetes while pregnant with my fourth child forced me to take this seriously. I needed to eat well to manage my blood sugar, and following her birth, I needed to continue to eat well to support my hormones and get enough rest to be patient with my kids. My temper and lack of love often resulted from meager sleep and poor nutrition.
The Physical Points to the Spiritual
In the Gospel, the Jews only see the physical. “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph?” How can he say he came from Heaven? But Jesus’ lineage points to a deeper spiritual reality: that while descending from Joseph’s line of David, the King of Jerusalem, He also has descended from the Father to be King of the Heavenly Jerusalem. He unites His eternal Word (logos) with Mary’s humanity to bring our own humanity into eternity.
“I am the bread of life,” Jesus says in John 6:48. The Eucharist to unbelieving eyes is what Jesus’ body was to the unbelieving Jews. Physically, on the outside, it does not seem to be Jesus’ flesh. But the physical points to a deeper sacramental reality: Just as our bodies need food, our souls also need food. Our bodies will die, yet they will be raised on the last day (Jn 6:44). Sin introduced a division between the body and soul, but in the beginning, it was not so. Eventually, our soul will be reunited with our body for all eternity, so taking care of it now points to the deeper spiritual truth of the resurrection of the body.
Taste and See
We can physically taste and see the goodness of the Lord in the Eucharist through the bodies God gave us. We eat of Jesus’ flesh now to be united with Him in Heaven. We eat good food for our body now so that it can glorify God for all of eternity. In this way we are becoming imitators of God (Eph 5:1), learning to live in love.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for the gift of Your Body and Blood. Transform my own body and heart to conform more to Yours. Teach me to live in love.
Call to Action
Spend some time in front of the Eucharist, asking for eyes of faith to see the deeper spiritual reality. And then find a way to take care of your body in a way that takes care of your soul as well, whether it be a nap or exercise.
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What a good correlation of the importance of taking care of our own body, as well as the importance of Christ’s body! Thank you!
Excellent piece! Your thorough summary is much appreciated. I now see the issue from a different angle thanks to your insightful comments. You made your points quite clearly with the examples you included. You have my gratitude for penning this.