Flesh for the Life of the World

Mary Pedersen considers how we, like Jesus, can become flesh for the life of the world.

The moving truck pulled up, ready to be emptied. We unlocked chains and swung doors open. It was packed to the gills. Like mining for gold, we dug in deep, dragging out box after box, lugging out bed frames, bolts, dressers, and lawn tools. Once most items were unloaded, we slumped on piled boxes to recover as we surveyed the work ahead. Just then, eight high-school students arrived, smiles on their faces, ready for the challenge. At that moment, they were mercy itself — flesh for the life of our family!

This past month, we having been reflecting on Jesus as Flesh for the Life of the World. Flesh — not just a great idea nor a philosophical construct, but the nitty gritty of giving of flesh for the good of others. “Flesh of my flesh” describes new life in the image of another. St. Paul encourages us:

So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma. (Ephesians 5:1, 2)

Each time we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we are being conformed to the image of God to serve as a living sacrifice--in the flesh.

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The image of Jesus as Flesh for the Life of the World may best describe God’s sacrificial love through a million small acts in the domestic church. #catholicmom

According to C. S. Lewis, “Every Christian is to be a little Christ.” As Christians, that something is the cross, sacrificial love revealing the self-emptying of Christ — His flesh given for us. Some Christians give the ultimate sacrifice through martyrdom, while most disciples pour out their lives, day in and day out, in the smallest sacrifices. As St. Teresa of Kolkata urged us: “Do small things with great love.”

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The image of Jesus as Flesh for the Life of the World may best describe God’s sacrificial love through a million small acts in the domestic church. Though we often use words to express our love, Christ’s love pours forth in the flesh: the mama nursing her infant in the dark of night or the father wrestling with his kids after a hard day. Monks deepen in sanctity by rising for prayer throughout the night while parents grow in holiness by kneeling at the bedside of a frightened or feverish child. We are to give our lives over to the familiar faces in our lives — in the flesh.

The students helping us unpack were Jesus in the flesh — little Christs — as they hauled boxes and assembled shelves, all with a cheerful attitude! God creates miracles through the flesh: the Incarnation, married love, babies, hugs, handshakes, and countless acts of service. Each time we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we are called forth to serve as a living sacrifice — in the flesh — for our families, our communities, and our world!

young man unloading boxes from car