DO NOT SIN AGAINST YOUR BODY

DO NOT SIN AGAINST YOUR BODY

By Fr. Felix (African Times Guest Writer)

A Reading from the 1st Epistle to the Corinthians (6:13-15, 17-20).

The Christian community at Corinth was a troublesome lot, and seems to

have lacked any resident human guide. They relied on the Holy Spirit,

backed up by several letters from Paul. Here we have Paul’s most

forceful reason for sexual self-control: as Christ lives in us by his

Spirit, all our bodily members are Christ’s, and Christ is involved in

every movement of them. This should give us a wonderful reverence for

our bodies, knowing that we implicate Christ in all our body’s

activities.

The most powerful expression comes in verse 16 (omitted in the public

reading, perhaps as being too pointed) ‘anyone who attaches himself to

a prostitute is one body with her, since the two become one flesh’.

This drives the lesson home: Christ, too, becomes involved with the

prostitute. Christ is involved in a wonderful way in the sexual act of

procreation, giving a couple the inestimable privilege and joy of

sharing in God’s work of creation. But Christ is also abused by a

Christian’s abuse of sex.