Catechism: Mental Health And The ChurchSample

You sprain your ankle, and your other leg takes on added weight to allow you to walk until you heal.

You get something in your eye, and instinctively your hands rise to cover and protect your eyes from further injury.

Your brain temperature starts to rise, so the signal goes out for a big yawn to not only stretch your jaw and increase your blood flow but also trigger a sharp inhale to cool the blood headed for your brain.

Taking on added weight or burden, protecting the injured part to allow healing, and intervening to prevent damage are all essential ways your physical body functions as a whole and not just a disconnected series of parts.

As today’s verses remind us, a body of believers functions in much the same way.

You get devastating news, and friends offer to stay with you until the shock wears off. They hold you up as you recover.

A classmate hurls an insult at you, and your parent’s words of wisdom provide you perspective and distance from the pain and hurt.

Your anxiety is escalating, and your pastor or trusted counselor steps in to address the issue and offer you relief.

With your physical body, the various parts are so intertwined that one member’s pain is immediately felt by all. In a healthy community, members are also sensitive to one another’s joys and sorrows, but that closeness is built on each member’s decision to be authentic and even vulnerable.

We chuckle at the thought of our eye trying to declare independence or even hide an injury from our hand but still fall victim to the temptation to isolate ourselves when things go wrong.

Imagine the chaos if each part of your body tried to hide its pain or deny its reliance on the rest of the body.

Your body is at its strongest, most efficient, and most healthy status when each part celebrates its unique features and function even as it recognizes its value as part of the whole.

Is it any wonder that you are at your healthiest when you intentionally choose to rely on those around you to support, protect, and defend you even as you attempt to do the same for them?

You were wired for relationship, and it is within the interdependence of community that you are perfectly positioned to be the most creative, extraordinary, contributing you possible. 

• Have there been times when you assigned relative value to those around you or even yourself based on personality, background, or even experiences? Has what you've read changed your opinion? If so, how?
• In what ways do you think being honest about your struggles or fears creates or even strengthens community?
• Today, who can you turn to for support? To whom can you offer support?