Scripture:
Reflection:
My father could not abide those whom he described as “vulgar” or “crass.” He believed people were better than that and expected his children to be better than that. He was an attorney and had served in the US Navy, so he knew something of vulgar and crass characters. Were he alive today, the level of vulgarity and crassness would disappoint him greatly.
In his Letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul wrote about the work of the Christian community in building up the Body of Christ. The community had to avoid human trickery or deceitful scheming, he wrote, in order to live into the truth in love, to grow into Christ. The metaphor of the body as community is familiar to us. We approach the altar and say “Amen” to the Eucharistic minister’s declaration, “The Body of Christ.” Not just receiving the Body of Christ but becoming the Body the Christ in the world today.
We hear vulgar and crass language used everywhere, but it is inimical to building up the community. When civic, church, and political leaders use it, the Body of Christ is especially diminished. When we ridicule someone who’s different than we are, when politicians mock others, when Christians make crude remarks about another person’s looks or religion or gender or whom they love, we harm the Body of Christ. How did we get to this place?
We all know that in our own physical bodies, there are less than perfect parts. But they are a part of who we are. We might well work at strengthening them or improving them, but they are members of this body called “me.” We need to hear Jesus say to us as individuals and as the Body of Christ, “You are my beloved, in you I am well pleased.” And I might imagine him adding, “So stop being so vulgar and crass.”
Robert Hotz is a consultant with American City Bureau, Inc. and was the Director of The Passion of Christ: The Love That Compels Campaign for Holy Cross Province.