"The Anatomy of a Christian" (excerpt)

Here’s an excerpt from the introduction to SALT’s new printable/e-reader resource, “The Anatomy of a Christian: A Zine on Privilege and Solidarity.”

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Lots of people have noticed the parallels between a single human body and many humans gathering together to cooperate. A high school’s drum and bugle corps, the Marine Corps, the Peace Corps: all use the French word for “body” (corps) to highlight the complex ways their individual members work together as one. Then, of course, there’s Saint Paul, who could think of no better way to think about Christians working together as “one body.” And not just any body: when Christians are together, we become the body of Jesus, the Body of Christ.

In this zine, we invite you to spend some time thinking about that Body, because if you haven’t noticed, it’s actually in pretty rough shape. Imagine a body with one hand that gets a new manicure every week, and one hand that doesn’t even have all its nails any more from working so hard. How bizarre would that be? Imagine going to the salon for a blowout while someone’s actively stabbing your foot. How out of touch with your own pain would you have to be to do that?

That’s how it is in the Body of Christ these days. And here’s where it can get even trickier. Sometimes we experience an advantage in relation to one aspect of life, and at the same time experience disadvantage in relation to another. For example, we might be poor and also white, or male and also have a disability. This is sometimes called “relative privilege” — and it’s good to keep in mind that all of this can be pretty complex and mixed-up.

Still, Paul’s metaphor of the body can help us think it through. Which hand are you and your family, the one that’s manicured, or the one that’s overworked? Or a bit of both? What should the two hands be doing for each other? Which is your school, or your church: the pampered hair, the hurting foot, or a mix? And what should we all be doing about it?

There are lots of answers to that last question. But one way or another, they all start with this: a little corps, a little community, reflecting, praying, and talking together. That’s what we’re inviting your family to do. Each week for fi ve weeks (or one a day for five days, or two a month for two-and-a-half months — make it your own!), we’ll give you a theme, a passage of scripture, a refl ection, some dinner table conversation starters, a prayer, and some simple activities you and your little corps might take on together.

What does it mean to be the Body of Christ? What are this body’s parts and what do they do? Which receive greater honor and respect, as Paul puts it, and which receive less — and why? Which parts are in pain? What should the other parts be doing about it? And what exactly is this body for?

Our hope is that as your family goes on this journey, you’ll grow closer to each other because of the conversations you have, and you’ll learn how to experience a richer and fuller life with the rest of the body of Christ — so that the whole body can thrive.

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Check out the resource here.