A Timely Reflection on this Past Sunday's Reading: We Are All Equal

 

by Mickey Kelly

Many Catholics heard a powerful reading from St. Paul to the Church of Corinth, just days following his conversion. It was heard on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and days following the Roe v Wade anniversary; plus days before the anniversary of the passing of the 13th amendment that freed African Americans from slavery.

Here's the reading in its entirety:

Brothers and sisters:
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.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

Now the body is not a single part, but many.
If a foot should say,
"Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body, "
it does not for this reason belong any less to the body.
Or if an ear should say,
"Because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body, "

it does not for this reason belong any less to the body.
If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?
If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?
But as it is, God placed the parts,
each one of them, in the body as he intended.
If they were all one part, where would the body be?
But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, "I do not need you, "
nor again the head to the feet, "I do not need you."
Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker
are all the more necessary,
and those parts of the body that we consider less honorable
we surround with greater honor,
and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety,
whereas our more presentable parts do not need this.
But God has so constructed the body
as to give greater honor to a part that is without it,
so that there may be no division in the body,
but that the parts may have the same concern for one another.
If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it;
if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.

Now you are Christ's body, and individually parts of it.
Some people God has designated in the church
to be, first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers;
then, mighty deeds;
then gifts of healing, assistance, administration,
and varieties of tongues.
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers?
Do all work mighty deeds? Do all have gifts of healing?
Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?

After listening to some commentaries and homilies centered around the reading, I'm just blown away at how God has a sense of humor and his timing. Here's why:

January is another month in the calendar year that is set aside for pro-life. As a history buff, I am appalled at how history tends to repeat itself. The readings discussed how we are one body and that no one is superior than the other. Sadly, it has resulted in genocide, especially in the last century. Take for example that January 27th marks the anniversary of when Auschwitz was liberated. A priest shared how he visited the death camp and he noticed across the way homes. At first, he thought they were recently built. However, the guide told him that the homes existed around the time the killings took place. Despite the concerns of the smoke coming out of the camp, the SS told the residents to pretend like nothing was happening.

January 22nd marked the anniversary when 7 men on the Supreme Court of the United States decided abortion is legal across the country. (Who said men cannot have an opinion?) Since the decision handed down by the highest court, 61 million babies have been sacrificed in the name of so called Women's Rights, Comfort, and Inconvenience. A majority of the abortions have been done on African Americans, yet they are pawns to a political party that has a long history of immorality, enslavement, slavery, theft, and even racism. No child is an inconvenience. The child in the mother's womb is just as wonderfully made as the homeless person, disabled veteran, the mentally challenged person, the senior citizen who fought in WW2, and even the immigrant or refugee.

January 31st marks the anniversary of the passage of the 13th Amendment. The amendment, passed by a 2/3 majority in congress (mostly Republicans), clearly states that: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." Unfortunately, African Americans are enslaved by the abortion lobby and an unborn black baby is more likely to be killed by abortion than gun violence, AIDS, and a member of the KKK.

What To Do?

We must take action. The best way is to acknowledge the fact that we are all human. Days following the March for Life, there was a video that surfaced about the young boys being taunted by Nathan Phillips, a so called "Vietnam Veteran." There were counter demonstrations that took place before, during, and after the March for Life. Phillips led an indigenous march for his fellow Native Americans. Originally, the videos on CNN and other outlets from the lame-stream media made everyone jump to conclusions and blame the students. However, when more videos surfaced to destroy the fake news narrative, there was not a single bystander that stepped in and acknowledged the fact that "we are all human." Meanwhile, those additional videos proved their innocence and apologies have poured in. It is sad to see how alarming that we must be reminded that we are all human. No matter what race, creed, or ethnicity, we are all wonderfully made by God. We have forgotten that each of us are created by God and have a purpose in this mortal life. Yes, we have people who sin against him, but we are called to love the person who sins and judge their actions. The first way to show love to the sinner is to pray. I believe the power of prayer unleashes love.

As a regular participant in the pro-life prayer vigils, I have seen how desolate and cold it can be. The escorts thinking they are doing what is right, yet in God's eye, they are doing wrong. They ignore you when you try to remind them of how they are a part of the problem with the abortion. We must continue to plant the seeds for their conversion with prayer and love. It is a challenge to get them thinking, but we must be more vocal about it.

I believe we need to be more vocal about what is happening in our society. We cannot stand and watch as human life is being attacked from womb to tomb. We may be told to "shut the bleep up", "Who cares", among other things, but we need to make enough noise to get people thinking. Without having a conversation about abortion, how are people going to think? We must be like the summer soldiers and sunshine patriots coming together to persevere in the fight to restore humanity. Marines have a motto that goes back to WW1 that goes, "Retreat Hell". We cannot give away an inch, but we must stand like a tree and hold onto our moral ground. If Marines can defend the Argonne Forest, then we have a reason to defend all life from womb to tomb.

I also want to mention that Martin Luther King Jr.'s 90th birthday. King had a dream that all of God's children will be holding hands together. I believe that time is now. We all must stand together against adversity and proclaim the Gospel of Life to all people.