How much do we value our bodies?
We know or we can imagine the great sorrow that the loss of a limb, a finger, or even a tooth can provoke. Or who doesn’t lament, even just a bit, our bodies’ diminishing youth and functionality?
Our bodies, with their many limitations, with their many vulnerabilities, are a priceless gift. Jesus is not oblivious to this when he says we are to cut off our hand, our foot, or pluck out our eyes if they are occasions of sin. So seriously does he take sin and its consequences, that losing a highly-valued limb is little compared to the deadly effects that sin could have. His words are meant to rouse us.
Jesus, in total love and total freedom gives us his priceless body for our salvation. May we treasure this precious gift. May we treasure our own bodies. It is through our bodies, with their aches, wrinkles, weakness, fatigue and even illness that we can praise, reverence and serve Christ and his Body.