A recurrent theme within the Pauline corpus is the phrase the Body of Christ. Such a theological expression is principal to ecclesiology, especially as portrayed in the life and teachings of the post-Vatican II Church. What do we mean by “the Body of Christ”?

The first meaning revolves around the historical Jesus. It is made explicit by the first letter of Saint John. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life – the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us – that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 Jn 1,1-3). The historical Jesus was the subject matter of the proclamation of the Word to the Johannine community.

The term “the Body of Christ” also refers to the Eucharist. The latter is the sacrament par excellence of the Body and Blood of Jesus. “And as they were eating, he took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my body.’” (Mk 14, 22). Echoing the teachings of the Council of Trent, Pope John Paul II illustrates this point in his encyclical ‘On the Eucharist in its relationship to the Church’, Ecclesia de Eucharistia. “The consecration of the bread and wine effects the change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the Body of Christ our Lord, and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 15).

The last meaning attributed to the expression “the Body of Christ” is to be found in the letters of St Paul. “The Body of Christ” is tantamount to the Church, the Body of Believers. To his Corinthian brethren in the faith, the Apostle of the Gentiles makes a bold affirmation. “Now you are the Body of Christ and individually members of it” (1 Cor 12, 27). What does this mean in Paul’s vision of the Church? He spells it out in this way: “For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the organs in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single organ, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those parts of the body which we think less honorable

we invest with the greater

honour, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving the greater honour to the inferior part, that there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” (1 Cor 12,14-26).

Christ’s Body is to be received and remembered historically, eucharistically and ecclesiologically. The Christ of history and the sacraments is to be encountered with in a special way with the Christ who lives in each and every one of us. “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Matt 25, 40). In this way, Christ’s real presence is experienced and celebrated till “the close of the age” (Matt 28, 20).

Fr Mario Attard

OFM Cap

San Gwann