Joke: God populated the earth with broccoli and cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow vegetables of all kinds, so man and woman would live long and healthy lives. And Satan created McDonald's. And McDonald's brought forth the 99-cent double-cheeseburger. And Satan said to man, "You want fries with that?" And the man said, "Super-size them." And Man gained pounds. And God created the healthful yogurt, so that woman might keep her figure that man found so fair. And Satan brought forth chocolate. The woman gained pounds. And God said, "Try My crispy fresh salad." And Satan brought forth ice cream. And the woman gained pounds. And God said, "I have sent you heart-healthy vegetables and olive oil with which to cook them." And Satan brought forth a chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. And man gained pounds and his bad cholesterol went through the roof. And the man went into cardiac arrest. And God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery. And Satan created HMOs.

A conversation between God and Satan on the differences between the healthy and the unhealthy foods that either flourish the body or destroy the body gives us a glimpse of the Church as One Body with many different parts and each part needs the other. It is a story of today.

In today’s second reading, Saint Paul teaches us saying, “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.” Has Christ had a body? What is Christ’s body? Saint Paul identifies Christ’s body saying, “You are Christ's body, and individually parts of it.” We are united all in Christ’s body. We are made up of Christ’s body. Christ’s body now is not the body of more than 2000 years ago. We are Christ’s body TODAY. As a body of Christ today, what should we do with the body of Christ with Christ the head of the body?

Saint Luke reminds us of Jesus’ trip to Nazareth where he had grown up and gone into the synagogue on the Sabbath day according to his custom. He was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah where it’s written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Jesus then said to them, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” At his baptism, we just celebrated the last two weekends, the Spirit of the Lord rested on him in a bodily form like a dove. He was anointed with the Spirit and Fire. His ministries were to bring glad tidings to the poor, free the captives, recover the sight of the blind, free the oppressed, and proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. Jesus Christ did just that as the prophet Isaiah prophesied of him. Now, Saint Paul identified the Church as the body of Christ with Christ as the head of the Church. We are the body of Christ and each one of us, first of all, is called to be united in the body. Even though we are very different from one another, just as the body has many different parts united in the body, we are reminded to be united in the Church. Just as the foot of the body, it cannot say, Saint Paul taught, “Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body.” Rather, Saint Paul reminds us that the foot is no less important than the hand to the body. The eye, Saint Paul said, “cannot say to the hand, ‘I do not need you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I do not need you.’” Each part of the body needs one another. We too need one another to form the Church. How can we be united to form the Church if we do not learn to be nice to one another, to help one another, to support one another, and to love one another? If a child makes noise or distracts you with his activities during Mass, instead of getting upset or you cannot do anything to help, you still can say a quick prayer to pray for the child, especially the parents who have to deal with it. The child’s activities and his noises are parts of the body of the Church. “If one part suffers,” Saint Paul said, “all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.” If someone cuts us off on the highway, instead of getting mad, say a quick prayer for the person because we are all parts of the body of Christ. Let’s say that that reckless driver got into an accident and got hurt. It’s not only him who gets hurt, but we are too. Why? We get hurt too because we pay taxes just to help those reckless drivers and many others.

In today’s first reading, Nehemiah, Ezra the priest-scribe, and the Levites instructed people saying: "Today is holy to the LORD your God. Do not be sad, and do not weep". As the body of Christ for today, we need to keep that body holy since our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. How should we keep our bodies holy and acceptable to the Lord if it’s not to learn to love one another by being kind to one another, helping one another, and supporting one another? Just as all the parts of the body need one another and so they are all attached to the body, we too need one another and be united in the Church to make Christ’s body visible in this walk of life. As the Body of Christ, the Church, are you attached to the body or detached from the body, the Church? The decision is always yours.