According to the ancient Greek philosopher Xenophon (Memorabilia 2.iii.18), Socrates once tried to reconcile two fighting brothers by telling them that they were like two hands or two feet of one person. By divine design they were to work together. That is the earliest known version of the allegory of a human body. After Socrates, this image, this allegory became quite popular in ancient times among rhetoricians and politicians. Four hundred years later, Apostle Paul used the same image to appeal for solidarity, cooperation and harmony among Christians in Corinth (1 Corinthians 12).
Paul took this allegory even further. He likened Christians to the body of Christ. But is a human body the only alternative to imagining Church, Christ or God? The Gospel of John uses the body of vine to speak about interdependence of believers and Christ. Could not a garden (Genesis 2), vineyard (Isaiah 5) or even a forest (Psalm 104) be also a fitting image to teach us about God and plurality, diversity, mutuality and solidarity in nature and in Church?
Join us this Sunday in celebrating beautiful allegories of mutuality and interconnectedness.
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