STOKING THE FIRE:
by Dave Sloan
"THE REDEMPTION OF THE BODY IS THE
REDEMPTION OF THE WORLD" (TOB 300).
The Gospel was, is, and will always be the person of Jesus Christ. But this culture in which we live is a new culture in many ways, and must reached with new tools, and in a language which it can understand. The Theology of the Body, by Pope John Paul II, is the message of the Gospel translated into the language of our era, our society.
"This enduring language of the body carries within itself all the richness and depth of the mystery, first of creation, and then of redemption" (ToB 362).
This language allows us to reach people in all walks and stages of life. It allows us to penetrate their hearts with a message of the most profound, immediate, and lasting impact. This language is the necessary way to speak the truth of the Gospel in our era for the simple reason that our culture as a whole has come to doubt the very existence of truth. Argumentation based on intellect and reason alone no longer has the power to persuade.
Thanks to the theology and language of the body, we are able to reach the skeptical and confused with a message that cannot be denied. For written in the bodies of every man and woman are the answers to our most profound questions--answers to the mysteries of our creation, our longings for union with one another, for the nuptial union to which we are called in paradise.
"Awareness of the meaning of the body, in particular of its nuptial meaning, is the fundamental element of human existence in the world" (ToB 66).
In this way, by pointing to the answers written so clearly into their own sexuality, and their own longing for union, we are able to explain the Gospel in a way that makes sense to modern working moms, engineers, waitresses, singles searching for mates and divorcees looking for some kind of way to recover what has been lost.
TOBIA (The Theology of the Body International Alliance) seeks to spread this message, these answers and these truths, in very much the same way that the early Church did. TOBIA came into being through the natural longing of Christians who share the same vision to come together and encourage, teach, support and pray with and for one another.
The simple fact that the Theology of the Body speaks to every aspect of human life, both individually and as a society, has resulted in many different types of responses to this message. Groups have begun to spring up rather spontaneously in cities across the globe, groups which explore various approaches to growing in understanding of this great teaching. And these groups have also developed various, and very remarkably complementary ways of bringing these teachings to the larger world around us.
TOBIA supports the coming together of these groups and the exchange of ideas and resources, including spiritual resources, among them. In this way we are like the coals of a fire which grow very hot when gathered close together, and then may spread out more thinly so that the heat can cover a wider area.
The necessity of coming together this way as Christian brothers and sisters simply to live and work as Christ's Church is what has led to this first National Forum on the Theology of the Body.
This forum will feature a compelling lineup of speakers with greatly different backgrounds and visions, but a very unified sense of purpose deriving from this one great teaching of Pope John Paul II.
But perhaps the principle reason we come together in this way is simply to stoke the fire. We are absolutely convinced that the theology of the body is the evangelization of the third millennium. We believe it is the antidote to the culture of death. We believe that we feeble apostles together can make a convincing case to hurting world that the deepest longings of their hearts can indeed be realized by learning and living the profound truths written by our creator in our very bodies.
"The body, and it alone, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine" (ToB 76).
We hope that you can join us in Gettysburg, or simply participate with TOBIA by sharing in our prayer and work in any way you can, as together we eagerly the great the promise of our Lord, the redemption, and the resurrection, of our bodies.
