Worshipping Our Own Body
“Their fathers had obeyed the Lord’s commands, but this new generation stopped doing so.” (Jgs 2:17)
The first reading today from the Book of Judges describes how a new generation of the people of Israel turned away from God and then worshiped other gods. God sent leaders to bring them back as His people, but they refused to listen and continued worshipping their own gods.
Our present era may be like the situation of Israel back then, just that the “gods” being worshipped and sought by the people today are not pagan idols but their own bodies. Since the beginning of the Sexual Revolution in the 1960s, many people have disobeyed God’s commands on morality and put them into question. We now see an oversexualized culture. Contraception, abortion, public nudity, pornography, premarital sex, homosexuality, masturbation, and other sexual sins are being normalized, with people, especially feminist women, using the principle “My body, my choice”. Individual bodies became the “gods” which people worship. Pleasure became the “good” being sought by people. Chastity is being mocked. The implementation of dress codes is being tagged as sexist and discriminatory.
However, our Lord, in His encounter with the young man, reminded us in the Gospel that “there is only One Who is good.” (Mt 19:17), God, and it is this Supreme Good that we should seek after. We should turn away from the “god” that brings us away from that Supreme Good. We should embrace chastity instead of lust; humility instead of pride. Liberals may refer to the Church’s teachings on sexual morality, which has been practiced by previous generations, as an outdated one, but they can never deny the fact that man, regardless of the generation he lives, may only achieve exaltation when he acknowledges and obeys God who gave him a body and soul. They can never deny the fact that treating their bodies as “gods” will just prevent their bodies from being truly dignified. The “pleasure” they seek after can never be comparable to the joy of eternal life.
Let us then practice chastity at all time, and call on others to do the same. Let us also pray for the conversion of those who are already used to worshipping their bodies.
A change in millennium or a change in generation can never be an excuse for us to turn away from God and worship a new “god”.
NB: This story was originally published at www.facebook.com/dcfvanguardsoftruth
