Body Language
Life had been running through a fog for weeks. I didn't know how much until it lifted. A reflection on Colossians 1:15-23.
Phrases that spoke to me today:
• he is the image of the invisible God
• in him all things hold together
• he is the head of the body, the church
Applying the Word to My Life:
As we were getting ready to start our Wednesday night small groups again this fall, I noticed something was missing. I was excited to see the guys, but I didn't have my usual flood of ideas about what we might talk about or where the conversations could go. The summer had been intense, and I had been away from youth ministry for a couple of months. Whenever that happens, I notice the same thing: life seems a little slower, almost as if everything is coming to me through a fog.
Then the ministry starts again, and something changes. The conversations begin, I'm back with the guys, and the ideas and energy return. It feels a little like coming back to life.
I notice the same thing in other places too. When I'm doing charity work or spending time helping people experiencing homelessness, I often come away tired but somehow more alive. I feel more connected to Christ, not because the activity itself is magical, but because in those moments I'm participating more fully in something larger than myself.
Paul gives us language for that today. Christ “is the head of the body, the church,” and “in him all things hold together.” The Church isn't simply an organization made up of people who happen to share the same beliefs. It's a living Body whose life comes from Christ.
The Body of Christ isn't just where we serve. It's where Christ gives us life.
We receive that life most profoundly in the Eucharist, where Christ gives us Himself. But His life also reaches us through the Church community, through prayer and worship with other people, and through the people we are called to love and serve. Sometimes we encounter Christ most clearly when we are giving something away and discover that we are receiving life at the same time.
The particular activities can change. The people in my small group will change. The ways I serve will change. There may come a time when I am called somewhere completely different. But if I cut myself off from the Body, I also cut myself off from one of the ordinary ways Christ has chosen to share His life with me.
That helps explain something about the saints too. Some preached, some prayed in silence, some served the poor, some taught, some suffered, and some led the Church. Their holiness didn't come from finding the perfect activity. It came from staying joined to Christ and allowing His life to take shape in theirs.
The saints are what human lives can look like when they remain connected to the life of Christ.
That's the invitation for us too. We don't become holy by generating enough enthusiasm, discipline, or strength on our own. We stay close to Christ, receive His life, and let that life move through us into the people around us.
Sometimes we notice it only after a season of fog, when we suddenly realize we're coming back to life.
My Response for Today:
Today I'll notice where Christ is giving me life through His Body.